The start of the new school year has seen a spike in cyberattacks against districts across the country, with small districts emerging as an especially attractive ransomware target by hackers.
The FBI has issued a warning to schools: Protect student data on edtech and other online platforms, or risk having it stolen and sold on the dark web. Instructional and administrative edtech products collect extensive data including: – personally identifiable information (i.e., names, Social Security numbers – biometric data (i.e., fingerprints) – students’ geolocation – […]
Operations at Oxford School District in Mississippi came to a halt on February 7, 2016, when a ransomware attack shut down the district’s computer network. Hackers infected 80 computers with malware, and then demanded $9,000 in bitcoin to remove it. The district did not pay the ransom, instead opting to wipe clean its servers and […]
Cyberattacks on high-profile companies such as Target and The Home Depot have driven a growing number of school CIOs and administrators to purchase cyber insurance policies in attempts to avoid costly litigation from a data breach. Such policies protect digital and print data, such as student and staff social security numbers, addresses and payroll. The […]
