Since 1992, thinkCSC has partnered with Columbus area schools and districts to ensure the safety and security of school environments. We work directly with school districts’ IT teams and administrations to ensure:
- Roster data is safe and secure
- Schools have the necessary infrastructure to handle the edtech they’re implementing
- Schools have in place the protocols needed to ensure they can withstand a server failure or ransomware attack.
We provide the following support to schools:
End-User Awareness Training
More now than ever before, schools have become the target of ransomware attacks. These attacks usually succeed by tricking an unwitting school administrator or faculty member into clicking a link or downloading a file that infiltrates the network. End-user awareness training for school staff is critical for the successful prevention of phishing attacks. We provide training for new teachers and administrators as well as refresher training for existing staff. Recognizing phishing attempts and knowing how to minimize risk can protect your school.
MFA Allows Teachers to Safely Access Your Network
Particularly in the last year, since more teachers were delivering instruction from home, multi-factor authentication (MFA) has become an important security tool for schools. MFA allows your teachers and administrators to connect to cloud services or remotely connect to their internal networks, without compromising student data privacy. We encourage schools to require multi-factor authentication for every access point educators and staff have to your company network and believe all users should enable MFA for email, banking, social media, and other personal accounts.
Off-Site Backup and Disaster Recovery for Schools
Many schools lack documentation in the area of security, especially a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery plan and an incident response plan. Implementing off-site backup and developing a disaster recovery plan and incident response plan are essential for a school’s ability to maintain operations if something happens.
Back to School with thinkCSC: We Lighten the Load
Many schools and districts do not have the in-house cybersecurity experts to develop and implement these essential security protocols. This places a hefty burden to place on school IT directors. They are already charged with ensuring that every student, teacher, and administrator has access to the network and that every edtech vendor has access to the roster data they need. This is where thinkCSC comes in. We partner with K-12 schools to develop customized, cost-effective IT strategies for the education industry. We have the specialists and the technical team in place to help ensure that school districts have the security and protection they need at a cost that fits their budgets.
The threat to education from ransomware and other cyberattacks has never been higher. If your school district needs a cybersecurity partner who can help educate, protect, and support your IT strategy, get in touch.
