Security is a major concern in educational settings. A student’s identifying information is often easy to find for anyone who has access to the school’s computers. Often, random people can look at grades and other sensitive information without restrictions, according to the experts on IT services in Los Angeles.
Let’s look at five of the most critical cybersecurity concerns educators should be aware of.
1. Student Privacy
School computers contain a lot of sensitive information about students, including grades, transcript history, and identifying data such as addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers. Parent information is also stored there.
Sensitive data should be accessible only to those who need it. Access should be granular, allowing access to grades and transcript information separately from personal information such as addresses or Social Security numbers.
2. User Accounts and Policy
Can you identify who is responsible for authorizing, reviewing, and removing user access in your facility or district? Many educational organizations lack formal policy and procedures for determining who has access and when that access is removed. Plus, some don’t have rules for sharing accounts or passwords.
Formal policies and procedures protect student privacy and educator information.
3. Security Training and Administration
Many educators don’t have any type of training when it comes to important data and security issues. Their organization may not even offer it or only offer it at irregular times. Another thing often missing from educational organizations is formal security administration.
The lack of both puts privacy and security at risk, according to the experts on IT services in Los Angeles.
4. Incident Response
What would happen if the student database was breached by a hacker? What if your network got hit with a denial of service attack? Many educational organizations don’t have even a basic plan on how to respond to a cybersecurity incident.
Every organization that handles sensitive data needs to know what to do if a cybersecurity incident happens.
5. Third-Party Vendors
Some educational organizations rely on third-party vendors to manage their technology. The problem is, many of those same organizations don’t have a policy or procedure for monitoring the vendor’s compliance with security requirements. In many cases, the contracts don’t even specify how security must be addressed.
This lack of contractual obligation and oversight is a major security concern.
These cybersecurity issues must be addressed at all levels of education, from administrators down to classroom helpers. If your educational facility needs assistance with strengthening your cybersecurity, get in touch with us at Advanced Networks. Our IT services team in Los Angeles can help your educational institution with all your cybersecurity needs.
