In the realm of education, where knowledge and information flow freely like restless spirits on a moonless night, there’s a need for robust cybersecurity tools that can guard against the dark forces of the digital world. But how do you empower your staff and students to face the frightening specters of cyber threats? And in a rural education environment with limited resources, what can you do to ensure that everyone’s data is safe from being possessed by evil entities?
As October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month and Halloween, it’s a great time for school districts across rural Alaska to think about taking the spookiness out of students’ digital educational experiences. Here are some essential tips and recommended resources to get started – no hocus pocus required!
For everyone to enhance their defenses against monsters that go bump in the night:
- Focus on the basics: Enable Multi Factor Authentication — often called MFA for short — wherever possible, use strong and unique passwords, and be wary of phishing attempts. Check out this article from Norton to get a crash course, build confidence, and give you the information you need to develop good habits.
For students to add to their magical skill set:
- Demand for workers with a cybersecurity skillset has never been higher. Adding to the challenge, these positions are relatively new which means technically minded students may have a hard time finding a mentor among their friends and family to help answer questions. The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) is here to help. NICCS, as a part of CISA, is a one-stop shop for cybersecurity careers and studies, awareness, and training. They offer great resources on how to start a career in cybersecurity.
- Just want to have fun? Download the Defend the Crown app and play along to protect a castle from cyber threats.
For parents and guardians to keep their families safe from harm:
- Have you wondered about the “right” way to talk to your kids about online threats? Have you tried but the conversation was a bit awkward and didn’t go anywhere? If so, you’re in good company. It can be difficult to have meaningful conversations about cybersecurity with children — especially because technology is always changing. Luckily, #AsktheAwkward videos are here to help. The videos offer helpful guidance on how to talk to your kids about online interactions. They’re fun, engaging, and decidedly not awkward.
- Boundaries are important — especially online. And they’ll likely be a little bit different depending on your family’s unique makeup. Visit the Google Safety Center to get a handle on setting ideal technology boundaries for your family.
Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day through art, storytelling, education
For educators to provide their wisdom on creepy things:
- Sometimes, to get your point across, it’s helpful to have reinforcement from outside experts. That’s where TEDed videos can help. Share engaging and insightful content with your classroom on everything from phishing to outsmarting online trolls.
- Are you and your students ready for more? Build a lesson plan with support from Verizon’s free library, covering current topics like artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
For schools to wave a spell of protection:
- Understand FERPA and how to protect student privacy through the U.S. Department of Education website.
- Join MS-ISAC to share cyber information with other tribal organizations.
- Implement a Student Privacy Pledge or similar policy to reduce the amount of student data collected.
- Celebrate Cybersecurity Awareness Month by participating in CISA activities and sharing their resources with your teams.
While this is a short list of the free resources that are available to students, their families, and educators, it is important to consider what options might also be available within Alaska. Don’t be too afraid to ask for a local expert to host a virtual session on cybersecurity. Representatives from telecommunication companies, the FBI, and CISA are all within reach and ready to share their scary stories!
If you have an idea for improving cybersecurity in your area, there are also grants available through a number of government organizations. To make the process less terrifying, head over to SchoolSafety.gov and use their Grant Finder tool to identify the right one for your idea.
Of course, if you’re still haunted by indecision on what cybersecurity tools are right for your school, you can always check in with your service providers and vendors for recommendations. Some providers offer encryption options for secure data transmission. Or if your students are already using Chromebook devices, Google for Education might be a good next step as well.
But the most important element to incorporate into a mature cybersecurity environment is education. Training your students and staff to recognize eerie phishing attempts, ensuring they know who to contact when something just seems off, and providing opportunities for them to learn more about better cybersecurity habits is the way to go. This should be no surprise to those responsible for preparing students to succeed, so let that knowledge and information continue to flow like restless spirits this season.