Since 2010, when the plan was last updated, K-12 schools have dramatically ramped up their use of education technology, leaving their systems more vulnerable to threats. That's been particularly true during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced schools to switch over to online learning at lightning speed.
"The efforts that the schools had to go through last year to convert from in-person to virtual learning put a lot of strain and stress on the technology services that they either had or they needed to acquire very quickly," said Nick Marinos, a director on the GAO's Information Technology and Cybersecurity team in an interview with Watchdog Report, the GAO's podcast. "In other cases where we've seen entities have to rush to put forward technology, cybersecurity often can be an afterthought or something that might not get attention until, unfortunately, an attack or an incident occurs."
These attacks can carry a high price tag. Marinos cited a school district in Florida that was targeted by a criminal group in March. The group encrypted the district's data and demanded a $40 million ransom to decrypt it. And back in 2019, a Kentucky school district got a fraudulent email that appeared to be from a vendor. The school ended up paying a $3.7 million invoice which went directly to an attacker.
All-in-all, 408 attacks were publicly reported in 2020, an 18 percent increase over the previous year, according to data from the Cybersecurity Resource Center that was cited in the report.
The department has taken some steps to help schools get their arms around these threats, GAO reported. The agency published guidance to help students and parents prepare for a cyber attack. It also put out guidance for schools on best practices in online learning. And it has provided schools with some resources, including training drills that have already been successful in other districts.
But "even though federal agencies do already provide a variety of products and services to help schools protect themselves against cyber threats, it's time for them to ensure that these efforts meet current needs," Marinos said.
Specifically, the report asks the Education Department to consult with the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) to figure out how to update its plan for K-12 schools. And the GAO called for the Education Department to consider whether additional guidance is needed to protect teachers, parents, and students from cyber threats.
The Education Department, which reviewed the report before it was published, agreed with the GAO's recommendations, but expressed some concerns about its lack of authority over security standards for school districts.
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