As remote learning and remote working have become the norm during the coronavirus pandemic, new security challenges have been presented in businesses and school districts alike in the form of cyber threats. School districts have been particularly targeted in the past year, seeing increases in data breaches, phishing scams, and malware attacks with the increase in technology necessary to run the school day.
According to one Govtech article, 2020 was a record-breaking year for cyber attacks against American public schools, seeing an 18% increase since 2019. Many schools within the public school system in the U.S. lack the I.T. staff and security protocols necessary to prevent financial documents and other sensitive data about students and parents from being illegally accessed.
While “Zoom Bombings” and other cyber invasions threaten to disrupt the virtual school day, public school districts who utilize online resources may consider modernizing their cybersecurity systems and raising awareness of these threats among students and staff. Suppliers of cyber security products and other emerging tech are available to browse on GovShop, home to over 2,000,000 government suppliers.
