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State Kicks Off New School Cybersecurity Initiative

By Jeanie Lindsay, IPB News | Published on in Education, Government, Statewide News, Technology
(Lexie Flickinger/Flickr)
(Lexie Flickinger/Flickr)

Cybersecurity in schools is the focus of a new initiative from the State Department of Education. State officials say there has been no catastrophic cyberattacks in Indiana schools. But, as Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Jeanie Lindsay reports, the effort hopes to get all schools on the same page with security measures by offering resources and grant money.

Schools can apply for matching grants of up to $25,000 to build up their cybersecurity systems, and improve 24-hour system monitoring.

The department’s chief technology officer John Keller says it’s crucial, since more schools are offering more tech to students.

“Cybersecurity is a layered concern that goes across really all sectors. I mean, it’s not just a teacher thing or a school administrator thing, it’s our students, our staff. Eighty percent or more of Indiana schools are working in an environment where every student has a device, we call it one-to-one,” he says. Cyber security is a huge issue worldwide, as you can see from this BroadbandSearch.net guide, but it’s better to tackle it from the ground up.

The initiative also includes a cybersecurity task force, made up of K-12 technology and school leaders, to help guide professional development for teachers and staff. A handful of schools will also test a new cybersecurity course for high schoolers next school year.

Lawmakers made funding available for the initiative in 2017, and Keller says it’s uncertain whether lawmakers will set aside the funding again next year. But, he says the initiative could also incentivize schools to prioritize cybersecurity funding in their own budgets through the matching grants.