K12 SIX Applauds Enactment of the Bipartisan K-12 Cybersecurity Act, Stands Ready to Support CISA and School Districts
Herndon, VA USA – October 21, 2021 - K12 SIX applauds the enactment of the bipartisan K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021, intended to address the increasingly significant cyber threats facing the education sector and the safety and security of one of the country’s most at-risk groups: children.
Earlier this month, President Biden signed into law legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Rick Scott, directing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to produce a report for Congress on the cyber threats against school districts. Beyond outlining the threat landscape, CISA will create guidelines for schools and an online toolkit to help school districts implement the guidance.
“Given the limited resources and IT security capacity of the K-12 sector, federal leadership and coordination will be integral to protecting school communities nationwide,” said Doug Levin, National Director of K12 SIX, an education sector-focused nonprofit that facilitates cyber threat information sharing among U.S. school districts, for defense and mitigation against attacks.
Benefits of K12 SIX membership include engagement in a private, vetted community of K-12 information security professionals, as well as access to virtual CISO open office hours, a cyber threat information sharing portal and mobile app, and K-12 specific leadership and training opportunities.
Working with its members, K12 SIX recently released national cybersecurity standards for school districts focused on the dozen essential protections every K-12 organization should put in place. Additionally, K12 SIX produces an annual report series, The State of K-12 Cybersecurity, which has grown to become the definitive record of publicly disclosed school cyber incidents in the U.S.
“We welcome a deeper partnership with the federal government in protecting our nation’s schools from online threats,” added Levin, “and we stand ready to assist CISA and all others committed to improving the ability of school districts to better defend their students, teachers, and other school community members against emerging cybersecurity threats, such as ransomware and social engineering attacks.”
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About K12 SIX
Kindergarten Through Twelfth Grade Security Information Exchange (K12 SIX) is a cyber and physical threat information sharing hub for school districts, to aid in preventing and mitigating attacks. This non-profit member community is a cost-effective forum for crowdsourcing security information among a vetted, trusted group of professionals with a common interest, using common technology and with supporting, independent analysis from the K12 SIX security staff. Visit www.k12six.org to learn more. K12 SIX is a member of the Global Resilience Federation multi-sector network of information sharing communities. Contact Patrick McGlone with media questions: pmcglone@grf.org.