As K-12 accelerates their collective journey down the path of digital transformation, one key undertaking of midsize-to-large school districts is the improvement in the learning experience, at scale, while improving cybersecurity.

The Educause Annual Conference 2021, held in Philadelphia, PA from October 26-29, connected higher education institutes from around the country. Following nearly two years of event cancellations, this was one of the first educational conferences to bring back the in-person experience while also offering the flexibility of a virtual option.

College and university systems comprised of multiple institutions face many IT challenges due to their complex organizational structures and breadth of users. Often, sharing systemwide services to reduce costs and minimize complexity is at odds with the need to maintain control and prohibit visibility of individual institutional resources.

Cybersecurity experts have long touted that “the traditional perimeter is dead” and have advocated for a zero-trust and identity-centric approach to security. However, if your identities are the most important element of a modern cybersecurity program, it is an unfortunate, but real truth that they are also the biggest threat to your systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted the challenge school districts, colleges, universities, and other educational institutions face in delivering continuity of learning for each student, regardless of their environment.

Colleges and universities have a historical significance in this country. Institutions such as Harvard, Georgetown, and the College of William and Mary date back to our American Colonial Era. Fast forward to 2021, these schools, along with so many others, continue to flourish with their own unique traditions and instructional underpinnings.

"Hello, this is the technology office; how can I help you?”

“Well, my school ordered this new software, and we can’t seem to make it work on our computers. Can you help?”

Sound familiar? If you’ve worked in technology in a school system within the last 15 years, you have probably experienced this exact situation.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many K-12 educational institutions are using remote or hybrid learning models. This growing digital footprint has created a prime opportunity for malicious actors to take advantage of districts’ increased reliance on digital tools. 

Seemingly overnight, the entire face of K-12 education completely shifted. Due to COVID-19, schools were forced to rethink how to deliver education in a new digital format. The majority of districts did not have a 1:1 program in place, meaning new devices had to be made available and issued to individual students without funding, training, or time for planning.

Sometimes complex problems require complex solutions. And sometimes those complex solutions cause even more complex problems. However, this cycle can be eliminated altogether by adhering to the one cardinal rule that we all learned in grade school: show your work!