The federal E-rate program has the potential to be a source of cybersecurity funding that K-12 schools and libraries are eager to tap to protect themselves against increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals.
Traditionally sources of funding for Internet connectivity, schools and libraries should be able to use E-rate funds for cybersecurity improvements, according to an annual report on grantee attitudes toward the program. Ninety-five percent of those surveyed for the report said they either agreed or strongly agreed that they should be able to do so, reflecting reality that schools are frequently the target of cyberattacks.
For cybercriminals, school districts are often like unlocked treasure chests, filled with valuable student data to hold for ransom or sell on the dark web. Districts generally lack the resources to protect this data from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
There were at least 1,619 publicly reported cyberattacks against school districts or individual schools between 2016 and 2022, according to an annually updated database maintained by K12 Security Information Exchange, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping schools to prevent such attacks.
This is likely a significant undercount because in most states, school districts and individual schools are not required to publicly disclose whether they have been the victim of an attack. These cyberattacks include data breaches and hacks, ransomware attacks, phishing attacks, and denial of service attacks.
THE Funds for Learning annual “E-rate Trends” report, a consulting firm that specializes in helping school districts identify how to use funds, draws its findings from a June survey of schools and libraries across the country as well as publicly available data on funding requests. E-rate financing. As he asked Rate E recipients questions related to other benefits and challenges of the program, cybersecurity emerged as an important theme.
“The results of the 2023 applicant survey clearly highlight the immediate and substantial need for cybersecurity in today’s educational institutions, with Rate E applicants advocating proactive approaches to protect our students and employees. library patrons,” said John Harrington, CEO of Funds for Learning, in the report.
The E-rate program currently has a spending cap of $4.4 billion, but it has distributed far less than that on an annual basis. It paid out $2.5 billion last year and $2.1 billion the year before.
Many schools want more advanced firewalls, but experts are divided on their effectiveness.
Nearly a quarter of schools and libraries surveyed said their last major investment in cybersecurity upgrades took place three or more years ago. Just under half (47%) said they had made a major investment in cybersecurity products or services in the past year. Just under half also said they had a line item in their budget for cybersecurity.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which created the E-rate program, is exploring making funding eligible for more advanced Internet security firewalls, which the vast majority of schools and libraries surveyed said wish to see it come true.
Several educational organizations, such as the Consortium for School Networking, the Council of Great City Schools, and Funds for Learning also pushed making more advanced Internet security firewalls eligible for Rate E funding. The FCC took public comments on the issue earlier this year, and the agency’s chairman, Jessica Rosenworcel announced a proposal for a separate pilot program this summer, it would provide up to $200 million in competitive grants to schools and libraries to strengthen their cyber defenses.
