IT Resources

K12SIX Holding Free Symposium on K–12 Cybersecurity on Thursday, March 10

• By Kristal Kuykendall
• 03/08/22

K12 Security Information Exchange, a nonprofit dedicated to helping protect public and private K–12 schools from cybersecurity threats, will host a K–12 Cybersecurity Leadership Symposium on Thursday, March 10, beginning at 11 a.m. EST.

All education IT professionals and administrators are invited to attend the free event, a half-day of virtual presentations and panels on the evolving cybersecurity challenges facing the education sector and the innovative strategies needed to mitigate them.

Cybersecurity experts at K12SIX will share and discuss the results of the organization’s fourth annual “State of K–12 Cybersecurity: Year In Review” report, and 16 speakers (listed below) will offer expert insights during panel discussions on the practice of K–12 cybersecurity, federal and state public policy opportunities, and the evolving cybersecurity liability insurance market.

The K–12 Cybersecurity: Year in Review report to be released during the symposium contains new incident data and detailed analyses of over 1,300 publicly disclosed school cyber incidents that occurred in 2021. K12SIX noted it is the only vendor-agnostic, independent research effort dedicated to shedding light on the emerging cybersecurity risks facing U.S. public K–12 school districts, based on a data source that the U.S. Government Accountability Office found to be the “most complete resource that tracks K-12 cybersecurity incidents, including student data breaches.”

The symposium is online, free to attend, and will be archived for registrants to watch later.

To register: https://www.k12six.org/2022-leadership-symposium.

Confirmed speakers for the symposium include:

• U.S. Congresswoman Doris Matsui
• Kristina Ishmael, Deputy Director, Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education
• Laura Bate, Senior Director, U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission
• Doug Levin, National Director, K12 Security Information Exchange (K12 SIX)
• Julia Fallon, Executive Director, State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA)
• Doug Robinson, Executive Director, National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)
• Andrew Ko, Founder, Kovexa
• Don Ringelestein, Chief Technology Officer, Maine Township (IL) High School District 207
• John Rizzo, Executive Director, Technology & Media Services, Shaker Heights (OH) City Schools
• Tim Tillman, Chief Technology Officer, Chesterfield County (VA) Public Schools
• Allison Walker, Executive Director, Cyber Security and Information Technology Risk Management/Department of Information Technology, Cleveland (OH) Metropolitan School District
• Rachel Wente-Chaney, Chief Information Officer, High Desert (OR) Education Service District
• Shawn Tuma, Partner, Spencer Fane LLP
• Steve Anderson, Cyber Insurance Underwriter, Measured Insurance
• Jeff Johnston, Vice President, Property & Casualty, Keenan
• Jeff Shaffer, Vice President, Engagement Management, Stroz Friedberg