On Monday, Rossville Consolidated School District (RCSD) announced it is among ten school districts worldwide awarded a 2022 IBM Education Security Preparedness Grant. The grant was created to help schools proactively prepare for and respond to cyberattacks and the growing threat of ransomware against schools. IBM will grant a total of $5 million in in-kind services. Each grant, for services valued at $500,000, will sponsor IBM Service Corps teams to provide in-kind security services and help address cybersecurity resiliency.
Dustin Shadbolt, Director of Technology for RCSD, remarked,
“We are looking forward to putting our Cybersecurity efforts into the spotlight. At Rossville Schools, we’ve put a lot of focus on physical security, training, and other safety measures. We are now looking at Cybersecurity as a prominent threat. We’ve seen the trends nationwide that attackers are focusing on K-12 districts due to a number of reasons, and Rossville won’t be able to simply dodge this threat just because we are a small district in the middle of Indiana. We are taking the stance that this may happen and focusing on being proactive to minimize damage and expedite recovery. We will take what we learn from the IBM team and share it with other districts in our area to start a serious conversation about how to better prepare against this rising threat. We are also planning on sharing resources and knowledge with our staff, students, and our community as a whole.”
As education institutions experience more and more cyberattacks, they’re also dealing with significant costs as a result. IBM’s 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report* revealed that the cost of a data breach averages $3.86 million for education institutions. The same report found that 49% of data breaches the industry experienced were caused by a malicious attack, highlighting that cybercriminals view schools as compelling targets. Nearly 30% of breaches in the education industry occurred due to human error, emphasizing the need for proper cybersecurity training and education in schools.
Rossville Consolidated School District was selected to receive the grant among more than 120 applications from schools across the U.S. Our school district will be working with IBM Service Corps teams to help proactively prepare for and respond to cyber threats by creating incident response plans, ransomware playbooks, updating technology, cybersecurity training for school communities, and more.
“Ransomware operators are increasingly setting their sights on schools, putting more pressure on these institutions to prioritize their cybersecurity. Cyberattacks on schools do not only impact the schools themselves, as the aftermath cascades down to students and their families, creating a very palpable effect on their communities,” said Charles Henderson, Global Managing Partner, and Head of IBM Security X-Force. “We’re proud to be able to support schools through this initiative, now in its second year, by helping to address critical gaps in security resources and planning and preparedness.”
“We’re excited to be launching this program for the second year in a row as part of IBM’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to help schools strengthen their security postures in response to the growing threats in the education space,” said Patrice Key-Rhone, Global Director of Employee Giving & Volunteerism at IBM. “At IBM we’re committed to supporting schools around the globe via our education and volunteer programs in order to help create equitable impact.”
IBM Service Corps volunteers are expected to be working with the schools to help them proactively prepare for and respond to cyber threats. Depending on each school’s needs, the engagements may include the creation of incident response plans, ransomware playbooks, updating technology, cybersecurity training for school communities, and more.
Rossville Consolidated School District serves 941 students with 136 staff members and is located in central Indiana.
Additional information can be found concerning the grant at https://newsroom.ibm.com/2022-10-24-IBM-Grants-a-Total-of-5-Million-in-kind-to-Bolster-Schools-Cybersecurity-Preparedness