By providing students and teachers with cybersecurity awareness training, it can help protect them against cyberattacks that threaten both their digital and physical safety. Such attacks should be taken very seriously.
Information Technology
No matter their field of endeavour - government, military, industry or education - students require cybersecurity knowledge. Unfortunately, cyberattacks on schools are becoming an increasing threat from hackers targeting large enterprises; attackers also often target local school districts where vulnerabilities may exist. Schools require enterprise-grade security measures with hardware-enabled protections to help safeguard students, faculty and data against such cyberthreats.
Cyberattacks on educational institutions have increased exponentially year upon year, often culminating in ransomware attacks that lead to files with student information being leaked or malware that disrupts entire systems - as was seen with Minneapolis Public Schools and other major school systems this past year.
As demand for cybersecurity professionals increases, higher education institutions are turning more frequently to cybersecurity graduates as a source of protection. CISA co-sponsors the CyberCorps program that awards scholarships to full-time undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in cybersecurity in return for services rendered at federal agencies or local governments; this initiative has successfully helped grow and diversify cybersecurity workforce by encouraging young people to enter this vital field.
Security
Today's world of computers is interconnected through local or global internet connections, leaving them open to cybercrime attacks from cybercriminals. Therefore, cybersecurity education in schools is so vital; attacks by hackers may put students and teachers in harm's way as well as their privacy at risk; potential threats include phishing scams, malware infections, ransomware attacks, denial-of-service (DDoS), spam and DDoS attacks.
Cyberattacks pose an existential threat to educational data that teachers rely on for preparing lessons and students use for exams, which makes cybersecurity a critical component of GCSE computer science courses. To safeguard educational integrity, it's vital that cybersecurity be embedded into these courses from an early stage.
North Dakota has mandated that all high schools provide instruction in cyber science and cybersecurity for the benefit of all its students in preparation for when they must work professionally in this area.
Threats
An GCSE computer science cyber security course teaches students about the various threats they might encounter online, such as hacking, data theft and malware. Students also learn how to protect themselves against these dangers as well as best practices when using online resources and apps.
Ransomware and malware attacks pose one of the greatest cybersecurity risks to educational institutions, as they prevent users from accessing their data and cause massive disruption in an institution. Therefore, it's essential that schools and universities prioritize cybersecurity.
Phishing, in which hackers send out scams designed to induce students into providing personal data that they computer science tuition will then use against them to commit identity theft or access possessions or cash from victims, is another cyber threat that should be taken seriously. Phishing can even expose student personal data such as names, addresses and phone numbers - exposing themselves even if this data should remain private.
Threats to education cybersecurity also include camfecting, which allows hackers to remotely gain access and control over a student's webcam. This issue has become all too prevalent now that so many students own laptops and smartphones with cameras built-in.
Hackers can exploit an unsecure network to access financial data belonging to students and instructors, leading them to identity theft, credit fraud, and other forms of financial crime. Therefore, investing in enterprise-class security with hardware-enabled protection can only benefit education.
Education
Students need a deeper understanding of cyber security to stay safe online, yet not every teacher has formal training in this subject matter. Unfortunately, students may become vulnerable to threats such as data theft, malware infections, and phishing scams without proper protections in place. Luckily there are ways for teachers to become certified in cybersecurity fields.
Since GCSE computer science was introduced, its popularity has seen steady increase. Pupils who study it tend to achieve higher grades than those who don't; yet its enrollment remains lower than other subjects due to conflicts with other favorite subjects or not counting towards the English Baccalaureate Diploma.
Teachers have also lamented a lack of resources to assist them in teaching computer science, with others noting school districts' low budgets making it hard to invest in equipment needed to protect against cyber attacks - which could explain why schools have become such easy targets for malicious hackers.