Cybersecurity threats have grown so quickly in recent years that demand for cybersecurity solutions often outpaces the supply. For school districts, that means that cybersecurity is often a vulnerable area–and administrators know it. The 2021 EdTech Trends Survey Report developed by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) showed that cybersecurity was the top unmet technology need across school districts by a large margin.
Cybersecurity practices can be difficult to understand, and misconceptions are everywhere. Members of Vartek’s Engineering Resource Center (ERC) recently discussed how their team of IT professionals approaches cybersecurity, and their insights may surprise you.
“It’s really about educating the user, the engineers, the people designing networks, and the people supporting [IT services] for the customer.”
The relative newness of the cybersecurity field is one reason that building a school district’s cybersecurity response can be a daunting task. More experienced school administrators might not have needed to think about the possibility of cyber attacks or data breaches until the past few years. “People want to be in their comfort zone, until an attack happens,” confirmed Sam Mohamed, Director of Technology and Innovation. “And once an attack happens, everybody’s on board.”
The possibility of cyber attacks leads concerned parties to seek out and purchase protection software and other tools. This is an understandable impulse, considering that the average cost of a data breach in 2021 was 4.24 million according to IBM. It’s true that financial resources are necessary to address cybersecurity, and certain tools can help. But, it might be surprising to learn that these tools are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting quality cybersecurity protection. In a digital landscape where everything evolves quickly and new threats emerge every day, experts say that the best approach to cybersecurity is holistic and education-focused.
More than a product that can be purchased or one fixed item to cross off a to-do list, addressing cybersecurity risks involves constant education. “The tools are very important,” Mohamed acknowledged. “But think about multifactor authentication, data protection, and your passwords, so it’s not only about the tools that you’re using. It’s really about educating the user, the engineers, the people designing networks, and the people supporting [IT services] for the customer.” The School Superintendents Association agrees, writing, “The first line of defense is always going to be the teacher or staff member. You need to teach them how to effectively use the system and how to spot problems.”
How do you keep up the line of defense against cybersecurity threats? See the next post in this two-part series!