Want to know what every hacker hopes you believe?
“We’re just a school…nobody wants to hack us.”
This is the #1 reason why most schools get hacked. They dismiss the importance of IT security because they’re only a “school.” This is a lazy, irresponsible excuse. One thing is for certain: NO ONE is immune to cybercrime. In fact, one in five organizations fall victim to cybercrime, and that number grows every year. Plus, many cyber-attacks are aimed specifically at schools BECAUSE they make themselves low-hanging fruit with sloppy or nonexistent security protocols.
And one more critical point to ponder: If YOU aren’t giving IT security the attention it deserves, how do you think your students and staff would feel about that? If for no other reason, you need to do it to protect their sensitive data, even if the only information about them you store is an e-mail address. If YOUR system gets compromised, hackers will now have access to your e-mails and can use that for phishing scams and virus-laden spam. I’m sure your students and staff want you to be a good steward of their information and privacy, so stop lying to yourself and get serious about putting essential security practices in place.
Here are two things you can do:
1. Create an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to outline what users can and cannot do with school devices, e-mail, data and Internet. That way they know how to play safe.
2. Implement ongoing training (like these tips!) to keep security top of mind. You can also run phishing security tests and score your users. That will truly show if they know how to spot a suspicious e-mail, and will make them realize how easy it is to be duped.
Have questions about cybersecurity or the technology at your school? We’re here to help. Access our calendar here to book a quick, 10-minute call with us.
