Security & Privacy


chart shows survey responses from K-12 teachers and parents about how aware they are of their school safety preparedness

New Report Reveals Parents' and Teachers' Critical Perspective on School Safety

A new report from Motorola Solutions reveals parents’ and teachers’ top concerns and how much they know about and are confident in their schools’ safety planning and emergency response preparation.

Pie chart and bar graph shows the tech consent practices in U.S. K-12 schools revealing most schools do not get consent from parents for ed tech their kids use

Majority of School Apps Advertising to Kids Even In SOPIPA States, ISL Data Shows

A new in-depth analysis from Internet Safety Labs’ 2022 K–12 EdTech Safety Benchmark Findings reveals alarming data about advertising in apps widely used by schools and finds that state privacy laws and third-party certifications claiming to keep students’ data private are often not making kids any safer.

a pyramid chart shows the types of cyber threats recorded in the first half of 2023

K12 Schools See Massive Spike in Malware and CryptoJacking in First Half of 2023

K–12 schools and other education organizations in the United States are experiencing a “massive spike” in malware, encrypted threats, and cryptojacking so far this year, even as ransomware attacks have slowed, according to SonicWall’s 2023 Mid-Year Cyber Threat Report.

Image is proposed logo for FCC smart device cyber trust labeling program with the words U.S. Cyber Trust Mark

FCC Proposal Would Create Voluntary Cybersecurity Label for Smart Devices

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has introduced a proposal to create a “voluntary cybersecurity labeling program” for smart devices in an effort to boost transparency and protection against cyber threats in the growing Internet of Things market.

screenshot of class action lawsuit filed July 17 against ed tech company Securly

Class-Action Lawsuit Says Securly Collected, Sold Student Location Data, Video History Without Consent

The parents of two California children are suing Securly, accusing the online-activity surveillance provider of violating California wiretapping and data privacy laws and of violating the federal Video Privacy Protection Act by collecting protected private information without consent and selling it to third-party advertisers.

PowerSchool to Buy SchoolMessenger, Integrate with its Cloud SIS

Cloud-based K–12 software provider PowerSchool has signed an agreement to acquire SchoolMessenger from its parent company, West Technology Group, for $300 million and plans to integrate SchoolMessenger’s features with the PowerSchool Student Information Cloud platform, according to a news release.

FCC Chair Proposes $200 Million Pilot for Data Security in Schools and Libraries

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel formally announced a proposal that would create a $200 million, three-year pilot program to help pay for data and information security services in K–12 schools and in libraries.

Zero-Day Exploits Dominate Malware from Web Traffic in Q1

In the first quarter of 2023, a massive 93% of detected malware from encrypted web traffic and 70% of malware from unencrypted web traffic came from zero day malware, according to a new report. And 51 new ransomware variants were detected.

Tech Tactics in Education

Data and Information Security Take the Spotlight at the Tech Tactics in Education Conference

The agenda for the 2023 Tech Tactics in Education conference has been revealed. The inaugural event will offer five tracks — two for K–12, two for higher education, and one for both — spotlighting data and IT security in the "new now."

Data from 60K Incidents in Spring 2023 Shows Usage Trends for School Incident Reporting

A new School Safety Trends: 2023 Spring Term report from incident response technology provider Centegix illustrates how schools are using the company’s mobile panic button solution on campuses nationwide.