Transportation Management Software, bus scheduling software, school bus scheduling software, school bus management software
It's more important than ever for school transportation offices - as well as school districts in general - to take web security seriously!
Emergency Evacuation Preparedness Keeps Kids Safe
When putting together an evacuation protocol, there are several things to keep in mind.
The Growing Cybercrime Threat To Schools
Previously, schools were largely overlooked in hacking attacks, but that has changed. Schools are now being actively targeted by hacks from both criminal groups, and even foreign states such as Iran and North Korea! According to compiled numbers, over 1,600 school hacking attacks were reported between 2016-2022, representing more than 10% of districts in the nation.
Why? Because schools hold a huge amount of data on their students, data which could be stolen for purposes such as identity theft or extortion. Students and their families trust their schools to protect data from this sort of theft, and schools need to be up to the challenge. In addition, school themselves may be targeted with ransomware - virus-style programs that lock down an operation's computer system until they pay a bounty to unlock it.
It's important to remember that most cybercrime is international. If you are attacked, the government will most likely NOT be able to help. It's a 'wild west' situation, and every district must be self-reliant in protecting their secure systems.
Improving School District Web Security
1 - Always keep ALL computers and devices up-to-date
Don't allow your computers, phones, and other devices to fall behind on their scheduled system updates. These updates almost always include security patches that help protect you from new threats. Ignoring updates will leave you vulnerable.
2 - Have a security evaluation
There are numerous above-board security groups which can review and evaluate an operation's cybersecurity, or even conduct sanctioned penetration tests. If it's been more than a couple years since you last checked over your security systems, this would be well worth the cost.
It would, at least, be much less expensive than being victimized by a major data breach or ransomware infection.
3 - Be aware of "phishing" tactics
Social engineering is still one of the most popular methods of gaining access to restricted areas and computers, because humans are often the weakest link in security systems. Hackers will often micro-target individuals in a business or other operation, such as impersonating a boss to trick their assistants into giving up privileged information. They may even target people in the real world, looking for opportunities to steal cell phones that may have access privileges.
Your school should have firm policies in place for verifying the identity of anyone seeking access to protected information. Keep your staff informed on ways to identify questionable callers or visitors as well.
4 - Keep offsite data backups
Any data-reliant operation should never keep all their data in a single location, and definitely not all in an on-site server. Having at least one remote cloud-hosted data backup system acts as a safety net. If a ransomware attack does hit your systems, you could restore your computers from the backup rather than having to pay the criminals for access.
5 - Inform parents of the threat
If your district uses a mobile app, such as parental notification services, be sure parents understand that these apps need to be protected. If a criminal gained access to their cell phone, they'd also have access to all the information in the app - including a lot of personal info on their child.
BusBoss takes web security seriously! We use industry-standard best practices to protect your precious data and your precious cargo. Please contact us if you have any questions about our data security measures.
(484) 941-0820
