K-12 schools in Louisiana face unique cybersecurity challenges due to the state's high poverty rate, resource constraints, infrastructure weaknesses, and vulnerability to natural disasters. Public school systems in Louisiana have been particularly vulnerable to these attacks, with incidents of cyberattacks tripling in 2020 alone. The Louisiana…

Cybersecurity remains a critical concern for school systems nationwide, showing a consistent increase in publicly disclosed K-12 cyber incidents over the past 5 years. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment underscores this trend, predicting ongoing targeting of K-12 school networks by cyber actors who will…

Safe, secure, resilient, and accessible education system infrastructure, both physical and digital, is an essential factor for success. Yet, the digital infrastructure in the nation's K-12 schools is increasingly under threat from malicious cyber actors. This fact sheet: (1) describes the most common types of cyber threats currently facing school…

This phenomenological study's objective was to review the existing initiatives for cybersecurity awareness and training that are in place for the K-12 education system throughout the United States. Every facet of life is now plagued by the potential, perceived, and real threat of cyber warfare, which includes, but is not limited to, K-12 schools…

Existing research literature in computing and IT education shows that there has been limited work on investigating how offense based learning approaches using hacks can enhance learning of mobile security topics. In an effort to fill this research gap, we performed an experimental study with a unique, nifty user hack driven offense based learning…

This is the third in a series of five briefs published by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology on the key considerations facing educational leaders as they work to build and sustain core digital infrastructure for learning. These briefs offer recommendations to complement the fundamental infrastructure considerations…

Many districts struggle to access the cybersecurity expertise or other resources needed to secure their networks and data appropriately. This isn't because mitigation strategies don't exist. Often, the barrage of suggestions and warnings directed at school IT leaders are too overwhelming to navigate, are not properly scoped for educational…

With the growth in digital teaching and learning, there has been a sharp rise in the number of cybersecurity attacks on K-12 school networks. This has demonstrated a need for security technologies and cybersecurity education. This study examined security technologies used, effective security practices, challenges, concerns, and wish list of…

Cyber threats have escalated in recent years. Many of these threats have been direct and vicious attacks on K-12 systems. Educators are rarely trained on how to address cyber threats from a systemic and educational perspective when such challenges arise in their school buildings. This article explains the cyber threats that are looming large for…

There are many resources to guide successful K-12 cybersecurity education. The objective of these resources is to prepare skilled and ethical cybersecurity students at the earliest level to meet the demands of higher-level programs. The goal of this article is to provide, as a starting point, a list of as many currently popular K-12 educational…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced schools across the nation to increase their reliance on IT to deliver educational instruction to students. This amplified the vulnerability of K-12 schools to potentially serious cyberattacks. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review cybersecurity in K-12 schools. The objectives of this report…

A qualitative case study focused on understanding what steps are needed to prepare the cybersecurity workforces of 2026-2028 to work with and against emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Conducted through a workshop held in two parts at a cybersecurity education conference, findings came both from a…

The Council of Europe's (CoE) model on Digital Citizenship Education (DCE) has at its basis the 'Competencies of Democratic Culture' model, which considers being an active and responsible citizen and implies the development of a set of lifelong competencies both online and offline at various levels, as well. Taking the 'Competencies of Democratic…

K-12 teachers and students are vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks and mostly ill-prepared to deal with them. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased these risks because of the reliance on digital technology in education and increased free time young children and adolescents spend online. Simultaneously, the U.S. is facing an extreme shortage of…

The requirement that schools must monitor student internet use is not a new concept to K-12 education; however, the use of safety management platforms (SMPs) to help with this task is new. These tools utilize artificial intelligence to sift through the data attached to student information and communications technology (ICT) use and report it back…