It's no secret that artificial intelligence is slowly permeating all aspects of society. Education is not an outlier: students and teachers alike are finding ways to implement ai in the classroom. Students have been using it to stimulate their creativity in many subjects, while teachers are finding new ways to complement ai and even write lesson plans.
With the push to integrate ai into schools, questions may arise about how safe it is to use ai platforms, especially with children involved. While it's scary to think about the potential threats that can arise due to ai, there are also ways to help mitigate the impact or prevent it altogether.
How vulnerable are students and teachers?
Schools are increasingly using connected devices, which can create multiple entry points for cyberattacks. ai platforms make those entry points harder to block.
Shad McGaha, chief technology officer at Belton ISD in Texas, believes cybercriminals are inevitably growing alongside ai.
“Cybercriminals themselves are using ai to create advanced malware, highly targeted phishing campaigns, and social engineering tactics that are harder to detect,” McGaha says. “These ai-powered attacks require a stronger defense.”
Schools are treasure troves of information for students and teachers, and McGaha says cybercriminals are evolving with their technology, while average individuals don't know enough about how to protect themselves from cyberattacks.
Why cybersecurity is important in education
With the growing number of ways ai can be used in education, keeping confidential information protected is of equal importance. Companies and individuals highly value personal information, and ai can create pathways to this information in ways we have yet to consider. However, implementing ai to help combat cybersecurity threats can help keep such information secure, much like an evolving antivirus program designed to discover and address new threats.
Schools may soon consider hiring artificial intelligence specialists to help shape the institution's infrastructure to better serve students and teachers. Having a professional dedicated to teaching an artificial intelligence platform to find, identify and eliminate virtual threats can help schools save time and money.
On a smaller scale, ai can also be used to monitor student interaction and behavior. More students than ever are connected to social media, and this can lead to unwanted forms of communication, such as cyberbullying. ai programs can help students understand how to deal with these situations by giving them examples of what to do when faced with bullying.
<h2 id="how-to-improve-cybersecurity-in-schools-in-regards-to-ai“>How to improve cybersecurity in schools in relation to ai
McGaha suggests there are several ways we can focus on cybersecurity in our schools, and ai can be a partner in that.
“ai can surpass traditional rules-based security systems by analyzing huge volumes of network and user data for anomalies that could indicate a breach attempt,” he says. “Learn to detect even new types of attacks with more speed and accuracy.”
ai can also react faster than a human to an attack. “ai-powered systems not only detect threats, they can automatically take action to contain them,” says McGaha. “This could mean isolating infected devices, quarantining suspicious files, or alerting IT staff in real time. “Speed is key to preventing a minor incident from becoming a full-blown safety crisis.”
Another point of interest is to improve the response to threats when incidents occur.
“Let's consider how ai can improve detection speed and automated response actions,” says MdGaha. “Define clear incident escalation procedures that include both IT staff and artificial intelligence tools. Data backup, offline storage. …Ensure critical data has secure backups that are isolated from the main network in the event of a compromise.”
Protecting our students from cyber breaches and other digital threats is more important than ever. Now, with an increasing amount of technology in our schools, having a cybersecurity specialist who can navigate ai will be critical to protecting teachers and students while maintaining focus on education.
