In this week’s Feds At the Edge Podcast, hear from federal, state and education leaders about how organizations on the state and local level can ready themselves for new funding opportunities that are targeted toward improving and preventing cyberattacks.
Doug Levin from K-12 Security Exchange brings focus on the existential nature of bad actor favorite, ransomware. He shares that in 2021 alone, there were 166 cyber-attacks across 66 schools, and six of those schools were so impacted they were forced to temporarily shut down.
All gathered in our discussion this week agreed there are three key practices every organization should be in the habit of: have a good understanding of your current situation, know which organizations offer free help, and get a good grasp on how insurance works.
When you have completed a survey of your system, you will be able to better identify the gaps where potential problems could arise. Completing this survey will also aid in completing an application for cyber insurance, which has only become more complicated in recent times. Jennifer Lotze remarked that what once was a few-question application has now become 14 pages of requirements. Rates have also increased, with customers seeing as much as a 30% hike since their last inquiry.
In 2021, the infrastructure and Jobs act was passed, allocating over one billion dollars to improve state, local, and tribal security between 2022 and 2025. This could be a much-needed relief for state governments and local schools who have been historically underfunded in cybersecurity prevention.
Our panel of experts were quick to point out the many free resources available right now, including the Cyber Resilience Review and Ransomware Readiness Assessment, offered completely free by CISA to help you understand what is going on in your network. The Department of Education also offers a free tool offered from the Privacy Technical Assistance Center through its website, Protecting Student Privacy,” which will provide up-to-date information on safe practices.
Listen now for more on these free resources, more game-changing tips on prevention, and solid advice on how to navigate the turbulent waters of cyber insurance.
To view this webinar: K-12: Learning How to Protect Against Ransomware.
Featured Speakers:
Digital Infrastructure Impact Fellow,
Office of Educational Technology,
Dept. of Education
