November 2005 — Features
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Is Your Network Safe?
Why educators should care about cybersecurity — and what they should do about it.
by Cheryl S. Williams and Keith R. Krueger
Assume that you are the superintendent of the Above-Average School District. Today in the news you spy a devastating story about a neighboring school district whose education network was attacked by hackers. Confidential information was breached, and the district’s data warehouse, e-mail communications, and Web site are all down. You think about how increasingly dependent your own district has grown on its educational network. You wonder, How do I know that our educational network is safe from cyber attacks? Now assume that you are the district technology leader—the chief technology officer (CTO)—and you have just been told the superintendent wants to talk to you about cybersecurity. You enter his office and he grimly shows you the press clips he is reading. He turns to you and asks, “Is our network safe?” How do you respond?
Most educators have little experience or expertise in cybersecurity. Yet, it is one of the most pressing vulnerabilities in today’s society. But beyond simply being aware of this vulnerability, educational leaders must ask themselves: What is an effective strategy for managing cybersecurity concerns? Whom do you trust to give you the best information? What should you do first? To answer these questions, administrators need to think more strategically about the vulnerability of educational networks to cybersecurity threats.
A Critical Partnership
Ensuring security in your school district’s information systems
is both a set of processes and a frame of mind that recognizes
cybersecurity as the attentive day-to-day management
of network systems in tandem with active involvement
of committed users on the system. Your district’s most powerful
network security tool is its users, whether administrative
staff, teachers, or students. To the extent that a network
truly serves the needs of educators, a district’s invested ownership
depends on a healthy partnership between you, the
technology leader, and your supportive colleagues. Users of
an educational network can serve as your eyes and ears for
the system, as well as alert you to policies and practices that
have the potential to impair their use of its resources.
This type of systemic approach to network and information
security is particularly important for ensuring student safety,
protecting student and staff privacy, supporting a district’s
teaching and learning mission, and maintaining strong community
support and trust. Enthusiastic support for the district
IT system from students, teachers, and
administrators also guarantees that an active
learning community is built and maintained,
and that student recordkeeping and reporting
are timely and accurate.
At-Risk Educational Networks
School districts can be especially vulnerable
to IT security breaches because many districts
have developed systems in an ad hoc
fashion over time, with mixed environments
that are harder to manage and secure.
