Tim Boltz: Cybersecurity Must Be Implemented Across Education Sector

A Carahsoft executive said cybersecurity must be implemented across the education sector to improve national security and students’ experiences.

Tim Boltz, education market program executive at Carahsoft and a 4×24 member, wrote in an article for the company that the education sector is one of the most prone to cyberattacks as schools and universities play a key role in the U.S. critical infrastructure. According to Boltz, improving the education sector’s cybersecurity infrastructure improves the country’s security and ensures that students’ educational, health and personal identification information are protected.

Boltz suggested that IT staff should always look into the current cyber state of the education sector, that technology manufacturers create secure-by-design products and that schools take advantage of artificial intelligence- and machine learning-enabled cyber analytics to detect and stop threats early, Carahsoft said.

Boltz’s article follows several announcements and calls across the U.S. government focusing on AI’s role in education.

Earlier in December, the National Science Foundation launched the EducateAI Initiative, which equips educators with the skills necessary to integrate AI into their teaching practices. In September, 19 educational technology policy and advocacy groups urged the government to develop additional AI guidance focused on online monitoring, content filtering and school-related activities that use the technology.