Indiana schools ramp up cybersecurity to safeguard student data

School districts across Indiana say they are facing increased cybersecurity threats. The Indiana Department of Education recently joined a state partnership that aims to educate districts on how to keep school and student data safe.

The partnership is administered by the Consortium for School Networking, or CoSN, a national nonprofit that shares cybersecurity safety practices with schools.

Linnette Attai, a data privacy consultant for CoSN, said the nonprofit's Trusted Learning Environment program provides a free data privacy rubric for districts. The rubric breaks down cybersecurity into five categories with 25 requirements.

“Those privacy requirements might be things like your leadership is engaged around privacy decisions, FERPA, state laws and things of that sort, and you have these certain security practices in place," Attai said. "You’re providing professional development. You’re providing training to your teachers and other employees.”

Schools that complete the requirements receive a seal of distinction. Zionsville Community Schools is one of those districts.

Dan Layton is the chief technology officer and chief innovation officer at Zionsville. He said hackers increasingly target schools because they’re large and vulnerable.

He added that Zionsville has more than 8,000 students, 20,000 parents and guardians, and 1,100 staff members who frequently share information with each other.

“The human element is usually the weakest part of a cybersecurity system,” Layton said. “I think a lot of times, bad actors will go after a school because they know there’s pieces that we have to be open on.”

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He said hackers can steal, sell or hold ransom student information like addresses, social security numbers and health information. They can also shut down a school’s ability to operate until the district sends the hacker money.

“We’ve seen everything from not even being able to print documents to using your email system,” Layton said. “It’s a real disruptor for those communication tools that we need throughout the day to make sure everything’s safe and secure.”

Layton said Zionsville keeps its data safe by using resources from organizations like CoSN to educate administrators, staff and students about cybersecurity. The district also ensures it doesn’t share more information than necessary with outside vendors like textbook companies or online education platforms.

Attai said she’s hopeful more school districts in Indiana will take inspiration from districts like Zionsville and use CoSN’s resources to strengthen their own cybersecurity practices.

“We sort of build that core out so we’re creating leaders in districts who then lead other districts while, at the same time, providing resources to everyone. Districts that want to participate in the cohort are welcome to participate," Attai said. "Those that can’t right now, they’re still getting the information and the encouragement to work on the programs.”

Kirsten is Indiana Public Broadcasting's education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair.