Keeping school networks safe from hackers鈥攚hether that鈥檚 a band of sophisticated criminals working overseas or a student who stole their teacher鈥檚 password鈥攊s the top priority for state education technology officials, by the State Educational Technology Directors Association.
What鈥檚 more, it鈥檚 clear that existing resources aren鈥檛 enough to alleviate the problem, given that districts as large as Los Angeles Unified鈥攖he nation鈥檚 second largest鈥攈ave been victims of cyberattacks.
Nineteen percent of state education technology officials said their states provide 鈥渁mple funding鈥� to head off cybersecurity risks, according to the survey of 104 education technology officials in 45 states, Guam, and the U.S. Department of Defense, which operates schools for some students from military families. That鈥檚 up from 8 percent, according to a similar report released last year.
But nearly half of this year鈥檚 respondents鈥�42 percent鈥攕aid their state provides a 鈥渟mall amount鈥� or 鈥渧ery little鈥� funding to address cybersecurity needs, according to the survey, which was conducted in May and June by Whiteboard Advisors on behalf of SETDA.
鈥淚mproving K-12 cybersecurity posture has become an issue of resources and equity,鈥� said Brad Hagg, director of education technology at the Indiana Department of Education in a statement featured in the SETDA report. 鈥淯nder-staffed districts and communities without access to a pipeline of cyber specialists will struggle to meet the requirements, often dictated by insurance companies, as well as the best practices necessary to implement a strong cybersecurity threat mitigation program.鈥�
Jessica Rosenworcel, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, has proposed a pilot program to provide up to $200 million in competitive grants over three years to help schools and libraries guard against cyber threats. But her pitch is running into resistance from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
