The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) has released some new, free resources for school district leaders who are charged with overseeing cybersecurity. In a recent study, cybersecurity remains the biggest concern among district ed tech leaders, with nearly all 981 survey respondents reporting that they are working to improve protections. The new resources from NICCS can help.
Cybersecurity Resources Available
The first step in securing your district’s data is to assess your current security level. The website offers an online assessment that that will recommend the improvements you need to make to improve safety and security within your school community. You can access the free tool here.
Once you’ve identified any security issues, you can begin to address them using the many resources that NICCS has collected. These include:
- Steps for Strengthening Security and Building Cyber Resilience in Schools
- Report and Toolkit: Partnering to Safeguard K-12 Organizations from Cybersecurity Threats
- K-12 Resources to Stop Ransomware
- Office of Educational Technology Report on Defensible & Resilient K-12 Digital Infrastructure
Of course, these steps are best supported by offering ongoing training for staff. The NICCS website lists a number of free and low-cost cybersecurity training options. (You should also consider having your staff complete the TCEA online course Network Security to help protect both their own and district data.) The site also provides information on how best to report incidents within your district if the worst does happen. Finally, NICCS offers a number lesson plans for K-12 educators who want to include cybersecurity in their teaching.
The website is one you should bookmark and use frequently as you lead your district in being safe from cybersecurity attacks.