The Consortium for School Networking Launches 'Cyber Security for the Digital District'

New resources to ensure privacy and security of school data

By News Release - October 2003

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), on Oct. 23 launched its newest leadership initiative, Cyber Security for the Digital District, designed to provide education technology leaders and policy-makers with strategies and tools they can use to ensure the privacy of data and the safe operation of technology within their school systems.

The initiative will be a highly respected source of up-to-date, unbiased information for educators. In addition to the "Cyber Security: Helping Schools Protect Their Technology Assets and Fulfill Their Educational Mission" background paper to frame the issues for educators, future initiative deliverables include:

• A toolkit to assist educators in understanding the issues around network security, explain the problem to other stakeholders, assess their own situation, and begin to reduce their risk.
• On-going professional development with face-to-face "train the trainer" workshops.
• A Web tool to enable educators to self assess their understanding of cyber-security issues and compare their district's situation with other responders.
• Compilation of case studies.
• A webcast on cyber security for CoSN members and federal, state and local policy makers.
• Development of an asynchronous online course.

"President Bush has made it a priority to provide safe schools for our nation's children," said John P. Bailey, director of educational technology for the U. S. Department of Education. "In our digital world we must also secure our school networks to keep children safe, information secure, and protect our network education resources. Working with state and local governments, school districts and the private sector, together we can identify specific ways to improve network security from administration down to the classroom."

The cyber security background paper notes that in the early years of educational technology, many school computer systems grew without much long-term or systemic planning. Only recently have districts begun to place high priority on building technology systems comprised of equipment that can be centrally managed by a single full-featured set of tools.

"The purpose of schools is student learning, but that can't happen unless a district's information systems are operational, safe, and adding value to the learning process," said Keith Krueger, CoSN's Executive Director. The Project Director for Cyber Security for the Digital District is Steven E. Miller, who is also the executive director of Mass Networks Education Partnership (MNEP), a New England-based non-profit that is partnering with CoSN on this initiative. "CoSN's vendor-neutral approach will give the education community unbiased information and methods for effective action around technology, policy, and the people issues that are the ultimate bedrock of security," Miller said.

Further information about the initiative will soon available at the project's website.

Cyber Security for the Digital District is supported by education grants from SonicWALL, SurfControl, Symantec, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, District Administration magazine and the U.S. Department of Education in collaboration with the Northwest Regional Education Lab.