IBM selected six school districts to receive its IBM Education Security Preparedness Grant, which totals $3 million. The in-kind grant was created to help United States K-12 public school districts proactively prepare for and respond to cyberattacks.
Director of Security for the Pojoaque Valley School District in New Mexico, Gary Johnson has taken a lead role in implementing COVID-19-related screening procedures, safety and security plans, and reopening protocols, but more importantly, he’s placed a focus on supporting students, staff and community members.
Gary Johnson is much more than Director of Security for the Pojoaque Valley School District in New Mexico. He’s in charge of safety and security, transportation and more, but his most important role is supporter, with this role becoming even more prominent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council Bluffs Community School District in Iowa has approved an investment in security upgrades across its school system, including video surveillance, access control and intrusion detection.
Congress sent some rather clear messages with passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), and the importance of education is undoubtedly top of mind. Based on the sheer volume of school safety allocations, protecting our nation’s students is a high priority with the Biden administration and a majority in Congress.
It seems that every day there’s a new story about a security lapse, emergency lockdown, or violent act taking place at a school somewhere in the United States. Today it’s simply inexcusable not to have adequate security measures in place—regardless of how safe you think your community may be. In School Security: How to Build and Strengthen a School Safety Program, Second Edition, Paul Timm, board-certified Physical Security Professional, nationally acclaimed expert in school security, and recipient of Security magazine's 2020 Most Influential People in Security, explains how to make your institution a safer place to learn with easy-to-follow steps.
Almost every American adult knows that cyberattacks and breaches are ubiquitous and have primarily targeted companies and government entities. They might even know that the single most common breach these days is ransomware, a malicious process by which hackers dismantle computer systems and don’t fix them until a ransom is paid. Few, however, are aware that ransomware is targeting a new set of highly vulnerable victims en masse. In recent months, the majority of successful ransomware attacks have struck K-12 schools nationwide, casting a whole new light on the number of Americans highly susceptible to a cyberattack.
The Tuscaloosa County School System in Alabama has partnered with school safety technology company Gaggle, to provide SpeakUp for Safety, a tip line for students, parents and school employees to report incidents that may effect safety and security.
CYBER.ORG announced the kickoff of a new pilot program created to recruit a diverse body of K-12 students to pursue undergraduate cybersecurity degrees and bolster the U.S. cybersecurity workforce. Through a $250,000 grant provided by the National Security Agency (NSA), CYBER.ORG will develop a K-12 feeder program for Grambling State University (GSU) in Northern Louisiana, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and the first university in the state to create a cybersecurity undergraduate degree. The goal is to replicate this model between school districts and HBCU’s across the country.
The Springfield School Board of Oregon, which covers more than 22 schools and close to 11,000 students, approved safety and security upgrades for two district elementary schools to include video surveillance.
A 2020 Most Influential in Security, Michael Matranga announced the launch of M6 Global, a team of the nation’s top security and emotional intelligence experts, to provide holistic plans for safe communities and workplaces.