What are the emerging educational concerns in an online world?

Educators the world over have realised the possibility of data security breaches that may occur in a school. This puts at risk the personal information of not only students, but also that of parents, teachers, and non-teaching staff. Such data have to be safeguarded by the school so as to avert financial loss, physical or psychological damage or other threats to individuals’ lives. 

The four common risks that schools may be exposed to in cyberspace are as follows. 

Cyberattacks: An attempt to gain unauthorised access to a computer system and the information stored in it 

Accidental insider breaches: Threats of data loss or damage posed by unwitting insiders 

Misconfigured controls: Lack of user governance processes and comprehensive security monitoring that can result in major oversights

Cloud security concerns: Illegal invasions by inside attackers who could use their authorised access to a school’s cloud-based service to sift through sensitive information 

It is therefore important for schools to initiate a step-by-step process for implementing cybersecurity measures. This may require them to take ownership of IT initiatives and employ secure protection strategies capable of preventing risks and allowing unhindered network connectivity.  

Article and image source
https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2019/10/balancing-act-cybersecurity-connected-classroom