Anonymous social media threats not only disrupt valuable instruction time, but they waste school and law enforcement resources. Here are six strategies to mitigate recovery costs and time lost.
First, you should start by building awareness about reporting to detect threats early and deter future threats, according to new guidance from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Leaders should encourage members of their district to “report, don’t repost” threats they see online to avoid further dissemination of threats, thus limiting their impact.
Secondly, look into building a partnership structure that will help address such threats. Intelligence organizations like fusion centers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation or school-knowledgeable law enforcement personnel will play an instrumental role in assessing threats and deciding on appropriate response actions.
Additionally, mental health and other threat assessment professionals will provide resources to schools addressing these situations in the moment and during recovery.
Next, leaders should consider the inclusion of a multidisciplinary threat assessment team while addressing anonymous threats. Their expertise should be utilized when the threat actor’s identity is revealed. At the very least, these teams should include a school administrator, a school-based law enforcement representative and a school counselor or similar mental health professional.
Leaders should also utilize response coordinators to help balance initial steps to ensure their campus is safe. If your school is the target of a threat, determining which assets need to be on-site is a crucial first step. Furthermore, be prepared to announce to your community whether the decision is made to lock down, secure campus or close school.
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Also on the list is the need to triage and determine the level of concern each threat poses. Start by considering contextual information about a threat, identify discernable patterns that may elevate or decrease the level of concern, and identify sins of the threat’s imminence that may call for a rapid response reaction.
Finally, taking into consideration all of these strategies, enhance your school’s preparedness to address future threats. Establish a response protocol that tackles threat situations and conduct age-appropriate drills and training exercises. Protocols should also include communicating with families and ensuring the proper resources are in place to address a threat’s impact.
You can read the full report here.
