The White House rolled out plans to provide millions in funding and additional federal resources to K-12 schools Monday, part of a broader effort to combat a surge in ransomware and other malicious cyberthreats confronting the sector.
Key Biden administration officials, including Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, along with First Lady Jill Biden, are meeting with school administrators, technology providers and other stakeholders Monday to address the rising threat landscape facing the nation’s schools.
The summit comes amid a rising wave of ransomware and other attacks against school districts nationwide. The White House cited at least eight attacks against various districts over the 2022-23 academic year.
The administration's plans include:
- FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is proposing a $200 million pilot program under the Universal Service Fund to boost cybersecurity in K-12 schools and libraries, in collaboration with other federal agencies.
- The Department of Education will set up a Government Coordinating Council to coordinate policies, action and communications between federal, state, local, tribal and territorial leaders in the sector.
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency plans to conduct tailored assessments, provide training and facilitate cyber exercises for 300 new entities over the coming school year. CISA plans to conduct 12 readiness exercises over the next school year, averaging one per month. The agency has already begun to solicit requests from local governments and critical infrastructure providers.
CISA has made school cybersecurity one of its key priorities among critical infrastructure providers, citing the lack of funding and other resources available to these various districts.
The rise in attacks have disrupted classes and led to the theft of sensitive student data in major school districts in recent years.
The Los Angeles Unified School District was hit by a major ransomware attack during Labor Day weekend in 2022.
The Minnesota Department of Education and about 45,000 students attending New York City public schools were impacted by the massive MOVEit data breach.
The K12 Security Information Exchange praised the initiatives, saying only a “whole-of-nation” effort would properly address the rise in malicious incidents.
“Targeted federal support and resources will be instrumental in stemming the tide of cyberattacks against school districts,” Doug Levin, director of K12 Six, said in a statement.
