How secure is your cyber security?

Schools, like all organisations, are now more reliant than ever on the internet, broadband and online software to support teaching, learning and the administration of the school. Ensuring that the integrity of your data and systems is protected should be at the top of your agenda but staying ahead of an everchanging technological landscape can be hard when the goalposts keep moving. So how can you ensure that your school is protected against the risk of cyber attacks?

Technology has played a huge role in changing the way our children learn and how schools are run. Whilst, for the most part, this brings efficiencies, consistency and ease to many of our processes, if not managed and maintained correctly, it can also leave us vulnerable to cyber attacks. The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) highlighted the concern that our security systems aren’t always keeping up with these technological advancements. But if cyber security is not your field of expertise it can be hard to know where to begin to protect your data.

A recent study commissioned by Ecclesiastical, found that schools are increasingly becoming a target for cyber attacks due to the types of information they hold. Protecting the integrity of your data, controlling access to data and preventing data loss is critical, not only in respect of GDPR but also in mitigation of a whole raft of cyber risks including reputational damage, financial loss, safeguarding issues and the ability of your school to continue to provide day-to-day operations and activities.

Protecting the integrity of your data, controlling access to data and preventing data loss is critical

These attacks can come in many forms as hackers use varied techniques to gain information, including social engineering. The use of these techniques demonstrates the need for a clear policy for dealing with cyber security and highlights that your school’s online security is not just the responsibility of your senior leadership team. With hackers using techniques such as phishing, aiming to target individuals or large groups of people, parents and school staff also need to be educated in school cyber security policies and procedures, including what to do if they think they have put the school at risk of an attack.    

A Cyber Security Health Check provides an independent and objective assessment of your school’s ability to guard against cyber risks and to protect and control your systems, your data, and critically, your staff and pupils. It aims to provide assurance that your school’s external and internal systems and data are protected from unauthorised access or change, malicious or otherwise.

Cantium Business Solutions’ Cyber Security Health Check is based on the National Cyber Security Centre’s 10 steps to Cyber Security guidance. This free assessment is conducted by one of our expert security consultants and can be conducted remotely to investigate and analyse the integrity of your school’s online systems. From investigating how safe your network is from internal and external attacks, to how effective your application of security updates and patches is, the Health Check will help you to identify clear areas of weakness.

Following the check, you will be provided with a report which includes a maturity assessment and rating of 0–5 against each of the 10 steps. You will then be able to prioritise improvement opportunities to ensure your school is protected.

Whether this free assessment simply provides you with peace of mind that your school is as protected as it should be or provides you with clear priorities to take forward, by working with Cantium to assess your cyber security we can support you in finding bespoke solutions that protect your school against current and future threats.

If you are interested in a free Cyber Security Health Check or would like to hear more about how Cantium can support you with your internal and external systems, please contact the team on 03000 411 115 or email info@cantium.solutions