Educational Institutions

CISA is committed to enhancing school security and student and staff safety. Educational institutions face a wide range of digital and physical threats, ranging from targeted violence to cyberattacks. CISA partners with educational institutions and other organizations throughout government, law enforcement, and communities nationwide and offers a variety of resources, programs, and tools to make our schools safer for students, staff, and parents.

CISA also manages the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse and its corresponding website, SchoolSafety.gov, which offers resources from CISA and other federal agencies to help schools prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from emergency situations. Schools can use this information to develop comprehensive school security plans and create safe and supportive learning environments.

In addition, CISA acknowledges that America needs well trained professionals working in cybersecurity roles in the future. Therefore, CISA partners with organizations to expose young students to cybersecurity concepts in the classroom and encourage older students to enter cybersecurity degree programs.

Featured Content

Cybersecurity for K-12 Education

CISA is working with the K-12 education sector to help raise awareness and understanding of the risks as well as to change behaviors that put us at risk of phishing and other online attacks. We provide tools, information, and resources.

School Safety

Discover how CISA collaborates with other agencies to support K-12 schools and districts in their efforts to improve school safety and security.

Cyber and IT Interns

CISA is hiring current students for paid cyber/IT internships. Start your cyber career with CISA!

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Cybersecurity Education & Career Development

CISA is committed to helping ensure we have a strong pipeline of future cybersecurity leaders.

Latest News

Discover the latest CISA news related to Educational Institutions.

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Idaho’s Higher Ed Leaders Participate in CISA-Led Cybersecurity Exercise

APR 15, 2024 | BLOG

Higher education leaders from across Idaho gathered for a CISA-Led Cybersecurity Exercise.

CISA Partners with State’s K-12 Schools Fighting Cyberattacks to Keep Kids Learning

APR 12, 2024 | BLOG

CISA's Cybersecurity Advisors across the nation are continuing to focus on our schools, a significant target of malicious cyber intruders.

Alerts & Directives

Alerts provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits.

CISA Releases Microsoft Expanded Cloud Logs Implementation Playbook

JAN 15, 2025 | ALERT

Services

CISA has compiled a list of free tools and services to help educational institutions further advance their security capabilities. This living repository includes services provided by CISA, widely used open-source tools, and other free tools and services offered by private and public sector organizations.

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Cyber Resilience Review (CRR)

Contact: iodregionaloperations@cisa.dhs.gov

An assessment that evaluates an organization's operational resilience and cybersecurity practices.

Crossfeed

ASSESS YOUR RISK LEVEL

Contact: vulnerability@cisa.dhs.gov

Crossfeed enables organizations to make better-informed risk decisions, provides CISA with greater insight on vulnerabilities in public-facing assets supporting National Critical Functions, and enables CISA to better fulfill its existing vulnerability management requirements.

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CISA Tabletop Exercise Packages

INCREASE YOUR RESILIENCE

Contact: cisa.exercises@mail.cisa.dhs.gov

A comprehensive set of resources designed to assist stakeholders in conducting their own exercises and initiating discussions within their organizations about their ability to address a variety of threat scenarios.

Helpful Resources

Use CISA's resources to gain important best practices, knowledge, and skills related to Educational Institutions.

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Cyber Threats to K-12 Remote Learning Education

DEC 17, 2020 | PUBLICATION

CISA has seen an increase in ransomware attacks against K-12 educational institutions with malicious cyber actors targeting school computer systems.

Download File (PDF, 729.16 KB)

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K-12 School Security Guide (3rd Edition) and School Security Assessment Tool

PUBLICATION

This Guide provides a doctrine to support schools in conducting vulnerability assessments and planning to implement layered physical security elements. The guide is designed for schools to employ in conjunction with the SSAT, a web-based tool that provides further guidance.

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