K-12 Cybersecurity News You Can Use: Apr 15, 2019

Keeping K-12 Cybersecure–the newsletter of the K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center–curates the best cybersecurity and privacy news for K-12 policymakers, administrators, IT professionals, vendors, and privacy advocates. The latest edition (“Keeping #K12CyberSecure [#19]: Sensationalizing Student Hacking“) provides information on recent updates to the K-12 Cyber Incident Map, other additions to the Resource Center, and curated news you can use.

Here’s your reading list for articles published during the first weeks of April 2019:

• The latest dark web cyber-criminal trend: selling children’s personal data. Fraudsters are looking for a clean credit history, and are using stolen identities to create them.
• A MD district failed to document spending, maintained inadequate cybersecurity controls, an audit finds.
• A PA school board president claims his district-provided email was hacked.
• A onetime MN middle school principal pleaded guilty to numerous crimes including stalking, burglary and identity theft, including computer-related crimes conducted against local educators.
• ND Governor Burgum signed legislation creating a unified cybersecurity approach for North Dakota, including “across all aspects of state government including state, local, legislative, judicial, K-12 education and higher education.”

This edition also brings numerous updates to incidents previously reported on the K-12 Cyber Incident Map, including:

• The status of criminal proceedings against a former student who allegedly orchestrated a denial-of-service attack against several PA districts (“Ex-Franklin Regional student working on plea deal in connection with cyber attack“);
• The remediation and recovery status of districts that have experienced cybersecurity incidents in MA (“Lynn Schools Working with Cyber Security Firm in Effort to Get Schools’ Computers Back Online“), NM (“Taos Board approves funds to clear computers after ransomware attack“), and OH (“Investigation continuing into Aurora City Schools cybersecurity attack“);
• The status of the recovery of nearly $1 million scammed from a LA district (“Additional money scammed from Caddo charter school is recovered“); and
• The disciplinary status of an IL student accused of conducting a denial-of-service attack against his school in an effort to avoid homework (“Mount Zion school computer system saboteur enters adult diversion program“).