ARCyber Secure Schools - Preventing Digital Crime was a two-hour cyber security event aimed primarily at education settings working with children.
The event included segments from:
- Andrew Williams (Cyber and Information Security Lead at SWGfL)
- Danny O’Neill (Director of MDR Security Operations at Bitdefender)
- Virginia Franqueira (Deputy Director of the Institute of Cyber Security for Society at the University of Kent)
- Poppy Angell (Data Protection Specialist at Phoenix Software Ltd)
- Jez Rogers & Andy Rawlinson (Co-founders of CySec Aware)
- Arshid Bashir (Head of Cyber Security - Department for Education).
You can watch the full session here:
Speakers and Topics
Danny O’Neill – Bitdefender
Danny O’Neill opened the session by talking about some the attacks that Bitdefender had seen across the education sector including ransomware attacks and targeted phishing attempts. He went on to talk in depth around how schools can protect themselves with particular focus on training members of staff, having a security strategy being part of the schools’ culture and knowing how to respond when attacks occur.
Virginia Franqueira – University of Kent
Virginia Franqueira went on to talk about the research found around children using online platforms and where cyber security comes into their education from a young age. She broke down how cyber security is managed throughout schools in the UK before talking more broadly about how it is handled throughout the world with particular focus around what age schools start teaching about cyber security.
Andrew Williams - SWGfL
Andrew Williams spoke in great detail around the extent of cyber security attacks, particularly focussing on the safeguarding implications that comes with protecting staff and pupils. He broke down the various layers of protection schools need to incorporate into their strategy whilst going into the key threats that are currently posing the most risk before ending on the importance of training.
Poppy Angell – Phoenix Software Ltd.
Poppy Angell shared her expertise around how schools should prioritise backing up their systems in order to help keep data protected. She spoke about how schools can achieve this through various methods including talk around testing systems, updating software and considering cloud based backups.
Arshid Bashir – Department for Education
Arshid Bashir was then introduced to talk more about the Cyber Secure Tool which is due for release over the coming months. He explained how the tool will aim to help schools improve their cyber security practice through assessment mechanisms across 23 aspects of cyber security. The goal is to help schools progress towards a level where their cyber security practice is protecting their school towards an acceptable level.
Jez Rogers and Andy Rawlinson - CySec Aware
Jez Rogers and Andy Rawlinson finished off by going through their own experience of when a school was attacked through cyber crime and the method in which the attackers found a way in. They spoke around the practice needed in order to recover from dangerous attacks and the importance of training within education settings to help prevent data breaches.
Further Support
Each speaker provided helpful resources and links for the audience to help raise awareness around the implications of cyber security within schools. You can take a look at them below:
- Bitdefender Security Software
- NCSC Advice for Schools
- Cyber and Information Security Training
- NCSC - Offline Backups
- University of Kent - Cyber Security Research
- Password Management & Security Guide
Don't forget, as part of the event we are researching the extent of cyber secuirty within the education sector. The first 150 schools to fill in this survey will receive five complimentary licences for Bitdefender Total Security Software, as a thank you for helping us, Bitdefender and the University of Kent gather research around cyber security in schools.
