Over the past few years, K-12 school districts have raced to implement remote learning and embrace digital transformation. From offering eLearning to eSports and adopting cloud solutions, districts adopted ways to enhance student learning opportunities. However, many districts have also been targeted by cybercriminals.
According to a report (the MS-ISAC K-12 Report: A Cybersecurity Assessment of the 2021-2022 School Year), "Ransomware attacks are the most impactful cybersecurity threat in terms of total cost and downtime for K–12 schools and districts.” Twenty-nine percent of K–12 respondents say their district suffered a cyber incident last year.
While K–12 schools need to safeguard their digital assets and their students’ personally identifiable information (PII), the reality is that many districts are underfunded and understaffed. According to report, the average school district spends 8 percent or less of its annual IT budget on security, with 18 percent of districts spending less than 1 percent.
Despite the daunting numbers, school districts can improve their cybersecurity by implementing ongoing security awareness training for faculty and staff.
In conjunction with the White House National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit in July 2022, Fortinet announced the launch of our free education-focused version of the Fortinet Security Awareness and Training service for all K–12 school districts and systems in the U.S. With content incorporating threat intelligence insights from FortiGuard Labs, the service gives faculty and staff the latest knowledge, guidance and tips to make smarter choices when confronted by cyberattacks and other risks to the organization.
Numerous districts are already adopting the free training service, including an Arizona school district with more than 5,200 faculty and staff members.
As schools adapt their IT infrastructure to support digital transformation, they also need to embrace a security transformation to protect their newly expanded attack surface. Fortinet can help.
Learn more about Fortinet’s Free Security Awareness and Training Service for K-12 School Districts here.