Apply for funding, MFA adoption trends, and a password song

Hi, I'm Jeff Carlson, Clever's Head of National Education Partnerships. Welcome to our first edition of the Cybersecure K-12 newsletter! With over 20 years in education, I've witnessed the unique challenges K-12 faces, and cybersecurity is a top concern. This newsletter aims to share expert insights and practical tips on protecting student identities and access.

In my first three months at Clever, I've received feedback from educators, parents, policymakers, and fellow edtech companies about how much Clever has alleviated pain points related to security, identity, and access. Moving forward, we'll provide quarterly updates on cybersecurity developments in the US K-12 system and our expanding efforts to protect schools from cyber threats.

To get the Cybersecure K-12 Newsletter delivered to your inbox, subscribe: Clever.com/newsletter

Top News: $200M FCC Cybersecurity Program for Schools?

In June, the FCC adopted a $200 million pilot Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Program.

The FCC made the first step of the process simple–particularly compared to most federal programs. If your school system has any unmet identity access and authentication needs, you should definitely fill out the initial FCC Form 484 once it becomes available this fall. After all, if you don’t apply, you have zero chance of acceptance into the pilot! Perhaps more important, the FCC will consider the number and type of school systems that apply in the initial round of pilot when deciding whether to fully implement a cybersecurity program beyond the pilot.

Learn more.

Insight on MFA Implementation

For those adopting multi-factor authentication, mobile apps on personal devices (69%) and SMS text messages (65%) are the favored second-factor methods.

However, these can be hard for students to use. Consider your users' needs—do these methods work with your school’s rules, like if cell phones aren't allowed?

How does your school compare? If you haven't implemented MFA yet, you're not alone – but it's a crucial step in strengthening your cybersecurity.?

Need help getting started? Read this: How to select the right MFA tool for your K-12 community

Cybersecurity Tip

Want to help students better understand cybersecurity? The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a catchy song with tips like “install updates, make better passwords, think before you click, use multiple factors.” Listen to CISA’s security song.

CIO of Boston Public Schools on Securing Student Accounts?

How are schools approaching cybersecurity? The CIO of Boston Public Schools, Mark Racine , recently talked about bad actors targeting student accounts and student data. He said, “Even if it is a younger student, a kindergarten student, a first grader, you have to treat the account with the same level of security that you would a staff member.”

Challenge: Cybercriminals are focusing attacks on students, aiming to access their computers, data, and money.

Strategy: Student accounts must be secured just as carefully as staff accounts because they can be used to hack into the system.

Recommendations for IT teams:

• Access level changes - Adjust access for staff and students to prevent misuse and reduce distractions without affecting learning.

• Alerting and reporting systems: These systems need to be customized for K-12 schools to avoid too many unnecessary alerts and to accurately show student activity.

Source: K12 SIX webinar

What I’m reading

1. ISTE released guidelines to support schools in reviewing edtech & AI products — including a measure on safety.
2. On July 30, K12 SIX hosts a webinar on the FCC K-12 Cybersecurity Pilot Program.?
3. K12 SIX released a new set of guidelines for compromised Google and/or MS365 for Education accounts.
4. Douglas Levin talks about students as targets of cyber attacks for financial reasons.?
5. Clever CEO Trish Sparks and James Lane teamed up to recommend specific cybersecurity strategies for district leaders.?

Where I’m going:?

• KIPP Foundation School Summit in Orlando: Looking forward to the next five years of one of the country’s largest charter school networks.
• Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) team in Dallas: Get free training on universal service programs including the upcoming FCC cyber security pilot.
• CISA’s National Summit on K-12 School Safety: I’ll hear from school leaders nationwide and federal officials about how they continue to increase data and security protections for school systems.

Send me a LinkedIn message if you’d like to connect at any of these events!

Where I’ve been:

• Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) in Miami: My first day on the job, I met with school leaders to learn how they’re staying on top of data and security challenges.
• Council of the Great City Schools in Portland: Engaged with CTOs on how to proactively prevent data breaches and how to respond when they happen.
• Innovation Collective in South Texas: Small businesses shared dynamic brand strategies, sparking creative ideas.
• ASU+GSV Summit and THE AI SHOW @ ASU+GSV in San Diego: Networked with hundreds of AI-curious leaders, diving into the future of technology.
• ISTE Live in Denver: Learned how thousands of teachers continue to improve the use of technology in their classrooms.?
• Rural Schools Association in Lake Placid: Heard how state and federal funding changes are impacting everything from bus routes to teacher recruiting.

To get the Cybersecure K-12 Newsletter delivered to your inbox, subscribe: Clever.com/newsletter