Bringing Awareness to K-12 and Higher Ed
The Education Cybersecurity Weekly is a curated weekly news overview for those who are concerned about Education industry. It provides brief summaries and links to articles and news across a spectrum of cybersecurity and technology topics that are specific to the industry.
Virtual assistants cause privacy concern
Education Week on June 26, 2018
Teachers are now increasingly using internet-connected devices that provide personal virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa helping with tasks ranging from setting a classroom timer to leading a group through a spelling test.
Although the devices are transforming education, there is a concern about privacy, and professors, students, IT administrators, and policymakers should be mindful of potential harms. Both Amazon and Google collect data on users to build profiles on them and target them with advertisements. They supposedly can be also designed specifically with the aim of sending a great deal of information to the device vendor, or government agencies even can access it.
The systems have security loopholes and, consequently, can be easily hacked. A recentreport assumes that an Amazon Echo improperly sent recordings of conversations to one of their friends.
CyberPatriot trains teens to fight cyber terror
NBC News on June 29, 2018
The previous Education Cyber Security Weekly highlights the need for cybersecurity training at educational institutions. The process has been launched already.
CyberPatriot is an annual cyber defense competition that allows students to show their true potential while trying to protect their computers. This year, more than 25,000 US teens completed the competition. The event is held according to the following scenario: teens own a business and have to solve issues and secure their business both from their employees and from outsiders, scoring as many points as possible.
Knowing how to secure a computer means being aware of how to secure the whole company and all its staff members. Cybersecurity pros are in demand right now, and it is a great advantage for an organization to hire an employee with such skills. Schools and universities should take it into account.
Digital media adoption and future of content in schools
GeekWire on June 30, 2018
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Chicago shows that education sector welcomes digital media, nonetheless, the future is not clearly outlined.
Digitals take many forms (such as laptops that integrate elements of augmented and virtual reality) in schools. These improvements meet five major obstacles to more digital media adoption by education institutions. Privacy is one of them along with equity, infrastructure, training, and interoperability.
Common Sense Media checked out 100 popular edtech apps, including those for digital media content, and concluded that only 10 percent met its minimum criteria for transparency and quality in privacy policies.
Schools are bringing digital media in the classrooms, and it is an obvious success, but some remedial work and focus on privacy are still required.
High schools prepare students for high-demand cyber jobs
EdTech Focus on K-12 on July 2, 2018
Businesses and higher education institutions are eager to support educational career-focused programs in light of the increasing demand for experienced cyber security professionals. K–12 districts like Baltimore County Public Schools and the School District of Palm Beach County help students improve their cybersecurity skills and earn certifications.
Students continue to get acquainted with cybersecurity field and find out how to think and operate like hackers. Technology teachers spotlight the idea that people particularly future qualified employees have to know what the criminals are using and how they can damage organizations to be able to prevent all risks.
It’s unnecessary to develop such programs from scratch as districts can borrow curriculum from government and business resources and modify it based on their needs. Partnerships with local businesses and colleges also provide opportunities to students so that they move more easily from high school to jobs or higher education.
Being born with technology in hands, millennials are ready for cybersecurity pathway. The program is useful even for students entering fields outside of technology, as the major threat in most industries is an employee who opens the door to attacks unconsciously.
Cyber awareness can skyrocket campus security
EdTech Focus on Higher Education on July 2, 2018
While investments in the recent security protections allow keeping hackers at bay, having employees educated on the dangers and risks of a data breach can end a threat before it begins. In the Higher Education field, IT professionals need to know the gaps and challenges including a lack of awareness of the accurate approaches to data protection.
Employees are considered both the first line of cyber defense and the weakest link of the company’s environment. Professors and students must understand the importance of particular actions and operations, therefore, be involved in the cybersecurity procedure, and this is the way to enhance cybersecurity proficiency.
A regularly updated list of reported phishing emails is a good solution that let better recognize a threat. After staff members digest cybersecurity concepts, it’s required to test the skills with assessment tools to master best security practices.
This Cyber Security Weekly has shed light on what’s happening in the cybersecurity of K-12 and Higher Education.
Cybersecurity is now a high-demand field, and education organizations are developing programs to train students to battle with cyber threats. This not only helps them become skilled and forward-looking but also be as close as possible to in-demand and highly-paid jobs.