Panda Security today issued a report on the current state of IT security in U.S. school systems. After conducting a survey of IT managers at K-12 districts around the country, Panda found that 63% have suffered IT security breaches at least twice in the past year.
Common concerns when it comes to keeping staff and students protected from the threat of malware include:
- Security issues consume staff time, diverting attention from the business of education – 38% of schools report removing viruses or malware from IT systems a few times a week, and 21% are doing this daily
- While schools have baseline IT security best practices in place, there is still room for improvement – 90% of schools install anti-virus and/or anti-malware on computers, but nearly 25% fail to use firewalls, block high-risk websites, or employ user authentication.
- Social media is a top concern for schools, but the stringency of school policy varies greatly – 29% of schools allow students unlimited access to social media sites, while 32% deny students’ access altogether.
The fully study is available at http://bit.ly/eH7UIg
