K-12 Cybersecurity Stats to Support Your District Funding Narrative

In recent years, K-12 school districts have adopted advanced networking technologies to facilitate digital learning and make learning more efficient and effective. However, this exponential growth of technology solutions has also introduced heightened cybersecurity vulnerabilities.  

Cyberattacks are on the rise, and K-12 schools, often viewed by malicious actors as “target rich and cyber poor,” are preyed upon with increasing frequency. K-12 cybersecurity is a problem that will likely get worse before it gets better. 

As you and your school district develop operational budgets, consider the following K-12 cybersecurity statistics in building your funding narrative.  

Comparitech, a cybersecurity and online privacy product review website, reported that global ransomware attacks against K-12 and higher education institutions are estimated to cost over $53 billion in downtime between 2018 and mid-September 2023. 

In the same report, Comparitech reported the breach of over 6.7 million personal records in the various ransomware attacks against schools. 

In its 2023 State of EdTech Leadership report, CoSN (Consortium for School Networking) reported most school districts—a whopping 66 percent—do not have a full-time cybersecurity position on staff.  

CoSN also reported that only a third of EdTech leaders felt their school district had sufficient resources to deal with cybersecurity issues. 

“Since the end of 2022, we have seen more than a 30 percent quarter-over-quarter increase of cyberattacks against K-12 schools,” said Carlos Kizzee, Senior Vice President MS-ISAC Strategy and Plans, Center of Internet Security in a September 2023 article. 

According to a November 2022 report from the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®), part of the Center for Internet Security (CIS), 29 percent of K-12 MS-ISAC member organizations reported being victims of a cyberattack incident. 

According to the previously mentioned CoSN report, 12 percent of districts don’t allocate any funds for cybersecurity defense. 

“For K-12 schools, cyber incidents are so prevalent that, on average, there’s more than one incident per school day,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly during the National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security on November 1, 2023.  

The enormity of school districts’ cybersecurity challenge is reflected in the staggering K-12 cybersecurity stats outlined above. Those statistics undoubtedly drew your attention; they’ll draw the attention of others as well. 

Build your cybersecurity funding narrative using the statistics and sources listed above. Furthermore, ensure your implementation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s “Most Impactful Security Measures,” as listed below: 

First 

• Implement multifactor authentication (MFA) 
• Prioritize patch management 
• Perform and test backups 
• Minimize exposure to common attacks 
• Develop and exercise a cyber incident response plan 
• Create a training and awareness campaign at all levels 

Second 

Prioritize further near-term investments in alignment with the full list of CISA’s Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) 

Third 

Develop a unique cybersecurity plan that leverages the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)