K12 Cybersecurity: Protecting our Schools

COSN CEO, Keith Kruger, and cybersecurity expert, Amy McLaughlin, discuss cybersecurity. McLaughlin suggests cyber security should not be the work of the school district’s  IT Department only, it  is the work of the entire school district and part of the culture.  Kruger and McLaughlin discuss why school districts are at risk for cyber security attacks, followed by specific steps districts and individuals can take to protect their information and data. This podcast is full of valuable information to better understand the need for cybersecurity in school districts and specific steps IT Departments can take to better protect data and information. For more information visit www.COSN.org About our guests: Keith has a global reputation as a key thought leader and has organized senior level U.S. delegations to visit Australia, Asia, Europe and South America to examine best practice in ICT in education. Keith R. Krueger is CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), a nonprofit organization that serves as the voice of K-12 school system technology leaders in North America.  CoSN’s mission is empowering educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments. He was selected by Ed Tech magazine for it’s 2021 K-12 IT influencers.  In 2016 Technology & Learning selected him as one of the “big 10” most influential people in ed tech, and the Center for Digital Education identified him as a Top 30 Technologist/Transformer/Trailblazer.  In 2008 he was selected by eSchool News as one of ten people who have had a profound impact on educational technology over the last decade.  In 2016 he received a Special Recognition award from the Council of Great City Schools. He is the current Chair of the Learning First Alliance and is on the Executive Committee of the National Coalition on Technology in Education & Training (NCTET).  He serves on many Advisory Boards including the Friday Institute at NC State University, the Public Policy Advisory Council for the American Library Association, Ed Tech Digest, as well as previously the Education Committee of the National Park System.  He is principal investigator of the Driving K-12 Innovation series. An experienced information technology and information security professional, Amy has over twenty years’ experience building, implementing, and securing information systems, including 10 years in K-12 and higher education. As a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), she has been responsible for protecting data covered by a broad range of federal and state regulations including HIPAA, FERPA, IRS 1075, and the Oregon Identity Theft Protection Act. She holds a Master of Science in Information Technology Management and a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy. Amy currently serves as CoSN’s Subject Matter Expert for Cybersecurity and Networking, and as the Executive Director of Technical & Solutions Architecture for Oregon State University.