The U.S. Department of Education has launched a council to help K-12 schools strengthen their cybersecurity practices, the agency announced March 28.
The Government Coordinating Council, made up of representatives from federal agencies, state education departments, education technology leaders, superintendents, and principals, will host cybersecurity training activities, recommend policies, and develop best practices to help schools respond. Responsible for communicating. The ministry says it can recover from cybersecurity threats and attacks.
The council is part of the federal government's response to cybersecurity challenges in K-12 schools. Schools are prime targets for cybercrime, and educational institutions have been advocating for additional federal resources for years. Enables you to strengthen your school's network security.
cyber attack It costs money not only financially but also academically. According to a 2022 U.S. Government Accountability Office report, learning time loss after a cyber attack ranges from 3 days to 3 weeks, and recovery from an attack takes 2 to 9 months. It may take some time.. According to the report, school districts lose between $50,000 and $1 million per cyberattack.
“Small, rural, and even mid-size and large school districts are struggling with staffing shortages and a lack of expertise to address cybersecurity,” said Council member and member organization Nonprofit said Keith Krueger, CEO of the School Networking Consortium. An organization for district educational technology leaders. “There are many opportunities for the federal government to provide value, but it can be overwhelming. Nobody has the time to look at everything. [federal] This is an agency that could potentially be helpful. ”
Noel Ellerson, associate executive director of advocacy and governance at the Association of School Superintendents (AASA), said this is a great sign that schools are having a seat at the table as part of the conversation about broader cybersecurity approaches. I did. He appointed two superintendents to serve on the AASA council. Heather Perry of Gorham, Maine and Gustavo Balderas of Beaverton, Oregon.
“What I'm looking for most is a substantive conversation that not only provides a forum for feedback, but also makes that feedback actually actionable,” Ellerson-Ng said.
CoSN and AASA, plus others The Council's education organizations include the State Educational Technology Directors Association, the Council of Metropolitan Schools, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
The council held its first meeting on March 28th.
“This is really the beginning,” Krueger said. “It's like a giant steamship. It takes a little while to turn the wheels, but we're already seeing quite a difference. One, two, three years ago, we were mostly focused on was not applied. [cybersecurity] Resources for K-12. ”
The announcement comes seven months after the White House hosted the first K-12 Cybersecurity Summit.Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and First Lady Jill Biden announced a cybersecurity initiative that includes a Government Coordinating Council.
As part of the White House initiative, the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will provide customized assessments and cybersecurity training and exercises for K-12 schools. The FBI will release an updated resource guide to help state governments and education officials know how to report cybersecurity incidents and take advantage of the federal government's cyber defense capabilities. Some education technology companies have committed to providing free or low-cost cybersecurity training resources to school districts.
States are trying to help schools deal with cyberattacks. States enacted nearly twice as many new cybersecurity laws impacting education last year than the year before, according to a CoSN report.. Many of the new laws are aimed at ensuring that K-12 officials are committed to cybersecurity and connecting greater technical expertise to school districts.
