Cyberattacks against K-12 schools in the United States are increasing, but efforts to combat them are hampered by inadequate staffing and security procedures as well as a lack of data collection and communication between federal agencies overseeing school security.
Phishing, ransomware, denial of service attacks, and video conference disruptions hit at least 45 U.S. school districts operating 1,981 schools during 2022, according to Emisoft, a maker of cybersecurity software.
The number of attacks rose sharply during COVID-19 related school shutdowns when the rapid switch to online learning technologies brought new vulnerability. Though increased only slightly from 2021, the number of attacks remains well above previous levels….