3 Major K-12 Cyber Risks and How to Mitigate Them

"The biggest cyber risk to schools is our kids. Everyone talks about protecting grandma, but the reality is younger generations are the ones getting scammed the most. Gen Z in particular is impatient, naive, and easy to trick. Scam texts and calls bombard them every day, and they have not yet learned to pause and question what they are seeing."

"I always tell parents to protect their kids and educate them about these risks. One effective step is to have a family safe word that only your kids and you know. This can stop someone pretending to be your child from manipulating your family. Teaching kids to slow down and think before responding to messages is just as important. Scams are no longer just emails."

"Threat actors prefer to target organizations that are relied upon heavily by the public because this dependence ratchets up the pressure to pay the ransom. K-12 schools or districts cannot afford to be down for weeks, and in most cases, they do not have the right IT infrastructure to be able to recover on their own without paying the ransom. In addition, they rarely have robust security defenses, making them both attractive and easy targets."

K-12 students are highly vulnerable to modern scams delivered via texts, calls, and AI-generated voice messages. Younger people, especially Gen Z, often respond quickly and can be manipulated, increasing account compromise and fraud risks. Families should educate children, use family safe words, and teach pause-and-verify habits. Ransomware actors target schools because public reliance raises pressure to pay, and many schools lack adequate IT infrastructure and robust defenses to recover without paying. Threat actors increasingly exfiltrate sensitive data and threaten publication, amplifying operational, financial, and reputational harm. Schools need stronger technical defenses and focused cybersecurity education.

Read at Securitymagazine