The Changing Requirements of a K-12 School Network

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Every time a parent sends their child to school, there is a list of things they hope their child will be safe from. That list probably includes protection from bullies, injuries during gym class, and probably rotten cafeteria food. In 2023, the Internet is likely to be among the top concerns.

As the school year begins this year, the White House announced several initiatives to curb cyberattacks on K-12 schools. This was in response to a 2022-2023 school year that saw eight major cyberattacks on U.S. K-12 schools, four of which caused classes to be disrupted or school closed altogether.

In response to this news, K-12 IT managers in the US have taken a holistic approach to cybersecurity. This is especially true as more schools take advantage of WAN, or wide area networking, tools to support the expanding nature of classroom (or out-of-classroom) instruction. If school IT staff want their security plans to be successful and at the right scale, they will need security tools that take into account a large number of possibilities and are therefore based on zero trust standards.

A more popular goal

The rise in cyberattacks on schools came in the wake of the pandemic, when remote learning forced many school districts to “expand” classrooms, thereby (unintentionally) expanding the attack surface for bad actors. Now that many schools have returned to classrooms, students may no longer log in remotely to computers for in-class instruction. However, they may still need to remotely access school websites or learning modules to complete assignments, group assignments, or check their grades.

A broader attack surface puts sensitive information such as student health information, parent personal information, student addresses, and faculty and staff information at risk. Additionally, even if students access the Internet at school, one wrong move could jeopardize sensitive information and cost the district a lot of money. The federal government reported that successful cyberattacks in 2022 ranged from $50,000 to $1 million in damages. With many districts across the country lacking resources, a loss in this range could have significant consequences.

Types of attacks

To avoid the consequences of a cyberattack, it can help school administrators to know how cyberattacks typically originate. He US Government Accountability Office points out four popular methods that criminals use for cyber attacks:

Identity fraud: An attempt to access data or resources through a fraudulent request in an email or website.

Data ransom: The use of malicious software to block access to computer or data systems. Typically, during these attacks the attacker requests a fee to release access to the attack target.

Distributed denial of service attacks: The use of multiple machines operating together to overwhelm a target, preventing or impairing authorized use of networks, systems or applications.

Interruptions in video conferences: Attacks that disrupt teleconferences or online classrooms with malicious content. This generally includes pornographic images, hateful images or speech, and threatening language.

Protecting a school from these attacks, or at least minimizing the damage, requires a deep network strategy with a zero-trust approach to cybersecurity in a K-12 school.

A wireless WAN and a zero trust approach

As classrooms expand in many schools (with more students accessing virtual classrooms at home, working on school-issued laptops, and even using Wi-Fi on the school bus to work), it has become more pertinent to IT administrators prioritize network security. as possible.

An increasing number of schools are realizing that wireless WAN (WWAN), or using public or private cellular routers or adapters as a key component of their WAN infrastructure, is a great way to improve connectivity at the edge network and ensure there is as little disruption as possible to the many ways classroom instruction has evolved. Even with increased connectivity opportunities with a WWAN, there are still security concerns that plague many schools. This is why a zero-trust approach to WWAN is so important for students, teachers, and IT staff who manage school networks.

By default, zero trust cybersecurity solutions give IT administrators the power to decide who gets access to school networks. Additionally, even if a school member is authorized, the right networking solution will allow IT administrators to decide where each user can go on the network. Compare this to more traditional virtual private network (VPN) solutions, which require complex configurations and, by default, give everyone access to the entire network.

There are also specific security features that school IT administrators should look for in their WWAN approach. For example, role-based Internet filtering allows the IT administrator to dictate where a student can go while on the school network and therefore filter the content they are exposed to. Additionally, the right solution will isolate virtual meetings in the cloud, preventing hackers from obtaining sensitive information through a virtual meeting, even if they somehow obtain credentials to enter a meeting.

Speaking of isolation, security features such as remote browser isolation separate users' devices from the Internet. This means that even if a student or faculty member falls for a phishing attempt, that attack will not result in access to the school network.

It is also important for IT administrators to look for WWAN solutions that are not complicated to implement or manage. In many cases, K-12 schools do not have massive IT teams with multiple experts to manage the various IT issues that may arise throughout the day. A WWAN solution that is comprehensive but not complicated to manage allows IT administrators to prioritize the school's online security without anything being lost.

A safe learning experience

Many schools have implemented security measures to ensure that unwanted guests do not enter their school. They, in turn, dictate who can enter the building once class has started and who cannot. In fact, even students need permission to be in certain places once class starts. While the use of WAN tools can improve school networks, IT staff must approach cybersecurity with the same level of fervor that administrators approach the physical safety of students and teachers.

With a zero trust solution, K-12 IT administrators can have more control over who enters the figurative doors of their network. This helps promote a scalable network and secure online environment, no matter where learning takes place.