Cybersecurity staff shortage is districts' top concern

Key points:

One in three school districts ranked a lack of dedicated cybersecurity staff as their top challenge in protecting schools, according to Cyber ​​insurance 2024an annual survey of Intelligent which surveys school administrators and offers an in-depth look at the state of cybersecurity across the US K-12 landscape.

The survey of more than 800 administrators, conducted in fall 2023, sheds light on the challenges and opportunities for schools to strengthen cybersecurity.

The results are in line with edtech-leaders-no-1-priority-in-2023/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>similar findings CoSN notes that many district leaders lack sufficient cybersecurity resources and face budget constraints. In fact, 50 percent of districts also reported that they wanted to spend more on cybersecurity than they currently do, underscoring the growing need for investment and preparation. This need is evidenced by one district's experience with a major ransomware attack:

“Our collaborative cybersecurity posture was strengthened by experiencing a significant ransomware attack,” said Christy Fisher, chief technology officer at Norman Public Schools. “She emphasized the need for cybersecurity insurance and the critical role of cross-departmental cooperation in negotiating and understanding the financial aspects of cyber risk.”

Additionally, while 96 percent of managers reported that cybersecurity is something that should be a collaborative effort, only 17 percent reported that their strategies truly reflect this team-based approach. As these findings demonstrate, cybersecurity must engage all personnel, from IT staff to individual employees, in awareness, training, and prevention efforts to create a culture of shared data/system protection responsibility.

Other key findings from the report, which presents the perspectives of more than 800 managers, include:

• Growing cybersecurity threats: Phishing and ransomware are identified as the biggest threats, and 80 percent of administrators are concerned about phishing attacks.
• New cybersecurity tools: 89 percent of districts want to adopt new technology tools to improve protection, focusing on identity and access management systems, data encryption, and zero-trust security models.
• Increased scrutiny of suppliers: Half of U.S. districts have updated provider safety criteria in the past two years; 55 percent are planning more changes for next year.

The report also provides practical recommendations for districts, including emphasizing easy-to-use cybersecurity tools, establishing clear criteria for evaluating and selecting educational technology vendors and partners, and mobilizing the mindset around cybersecurity by training of all staff roles.

Responding to the report's findings, Trish Sparks, CEO of Clever, highlighted the people-first aspect of cybersecurity: “It's not just about technology, it's also about people. To keep schools safe, everyone involved—technology providers, administrators, and teachers—must know best cybersecurity practices. Tools like MFA should be easy to use, making it more likely that everyone will use them and keep schools safe.”

This press release originally appeared online.

Laura Ascione is the editorial director of eSchool Media. She graduated from the prestigious Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

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