Texas set aside millions to help schools fight hackers Why is most of it still untouched CBS Texas
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Updated on May 18 2025 246 PM CDT
CBS Texas
ppThe first call came in the early hours of the morning in the fall of 2021 informing the Allen Independent School District Director of Technology Nelson Orta that there was an issue A ransomware attack had paralyzed Allen schools ppWe got people back online that same day within hours Orta said But behind the scenes theres a lot happeningppFor the next three months Orta said the district underwent a massive repair and investigation operation It was a process that turned out to be costly ppSchool records obtained by the ITeam show that while Allen ISD never sent a penny in ransom to hackers between security contractors IT repairs and legal fees the response to this one cyberattack cost the district more than 385000ppThe reality is that these things cost money Orta said Defending against threats modernizing and upgrading having staff that knows how to do those things and can implement and monitor on a daily basis costs moneyppAllen ISD isnt alone Schools have become prime targets for computer hackers ppBetween July 2023 and December 2024 82 of K12 schools experienced a cyberattack according to a report from the Center for Internet Security That same report showed 86 of schools said a lack of funding was their top concern in defending against cyberattacks ppTo address the issue in Texas two years ago state lawmakers set up the K12 Cybersecurity Initiative setting aside 55 million to help schools protect their computer systems ppBut despite the need the ITeam found that nearly two years into the program only a fraction of the money has been usedppOf the more than 900 school districts in Texas only 300 had applied as of January 2025 according to records from the Texas Education Agency By the time this twoyear program ends in September 28 million will be left on the table ppThe TEA said many school districts were hesitant to apply fearing that if the funding ends they would have to pull money from other parts of the budget or quickly change cybersecurity plans Other districts didnt apply because they didnt initially qualify ppWhen the program was first unveiled only districts with fewer than 15000 students were eligible The threshold has since been raised to districts with fewer than 50000 students ppSee the map below for details on which school districts have applied for assistance from the K12 Cybersecurity InitiativeppWhile hundreds of districts didnt apply many that did said the program has helped them enhance security in ways they wouldnt have been able to otherwiseppMegan Corns the Chief Technology Officer at Red Oak ISD said she absolutely believes the program has helped prevent a cyber incident The district received nearly 30000 from the state She said the money paid for a cyber detection response systemppWhich really just provides us a security guard to watch over all the devices and tell us if theres anything malicious on a device Corns said Thats something that I couldnt staff Im not going to be able to have a staff member thats going to be able to watch all of the devices at the same timeppAs of January the state reported that detection response systems funded by the program have blocked more than 1400 ransomwarerelated activities ppIn April Allen ISD became the latest school district to benefit from the K12 Cybersecurity Initiative The district received 175000 ppIn an email to the ITeam a TEA spokesperson said that while the program took some time to get started the agency expects more school districts to apply if funding is renewed for another two years The TEA is asking state lawmakers for 42 million to fund the program through September 2027 ppBrian New has been a member of the CBS 11 News team since 2013 In 2017 he was awarded the Lone Star Emmy for best investigative reporter This is one of 10 Emmy awards Brian has been honored with during his careerpp
2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc All Rights Reserved
pp2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc All Rights Reservedp
Updated on May 18 2025 246 PM CDT
CBS Texas
ppThe first call came in the early hours of the morning in the fall of 2021 informing the Allen Independent School District Director of Technology Nelson Orta that there was an issue A ransomware attack had paralyzed Allen schools ppWe got people back online that same day within hours Orta said But behind the scenes theres a lot happeningppFor the next three months Orta said the district underwent a massive repair and investigation operation It was a process that turned out to be costly ppSchool records obtained by the ITeam show that while Allen ISD never sent a penny in ransom to hackers between security contractors IT repairs and legal fees the response to this one cyberattack cost the district more than 385000ppThe reality is that these things cost money Orta said Defending against threats modernizing and upgrading having staff that knows how to do those things and can implement and monitor on a daily basis costs moneyppAllen ISD isnt alone Schools have become prime targets for computer hackers ppBetween July 2023 and December 2024 82 of K12 schools experienced a cyberattack according to a report from the Center for Internet Security That same report showed 86 of schools said a lack of funding was their top concern in defending against cyberattacks ppTo address the issue in Texas two years ago state lawmakers set up the K12 Cybersecurity Initiative setting aside 55 million to help schools protect their computer systems ppBut despite the need the ITeam found that nearly two years into the program only a fraction of the money has been usedppOf the more than 900 school districts in Texas only 300 had applied as of January 2025 according to records from the Texas Education Agency By the time this twoyear program ends in September 28 million will be left on the table ppThe TEA said many school districts were hesitant to apply fearing that if the funding ends they would have to pull money from other parts of the budget or quickly change cybersecurity plans Other districts didnt apply because they didnt initially qualify ppWhen the program was first unveiled only districts with fewer than 15000 students were eligible The threshold has since been raised to districts with fewer than 50000 students ppSee the map below for details on which school districts have applied for assistance from the K12 Cybersecurity InitiativeppWhile hundreds of districts didnt apply many that did said the program has helped them enhance security in ways they wouldnt have been able to otherwiseppMegan Corns the Chief Technology Officer at Red Oak ISD said she absolutely believes the program has helped prevent a cyber incident The district received nearly 30000 from the state She said the money paid for a cyber detection response systemppWhich really just provides us a security guard to watch over all the devices and tell us if theres anything malicious on a device Corns said Thats something that I couldnt staff Im not going to be able to have a staff member thats going to be able to watch all of the devices at the same timeppAs of January the state reported that detection response systems funded by the program have blocked more than 1400 ransomwarerelated activities ppIn April Allen ISD became the latest school district to benefit from the K12 Cybersecurity Initiative The district received 175000 ppIn an email to the ITeam a TEA spokesperson said that while the program took some time to get started the agency expects more school districts to apply if funding is renewed for another two years The TEA is asking state lawmakers for 42 million to fund the program through September 2027 ppBrian New has been a member of the CBS 11 News team since 2013 In 2017 he was awarded the Lone Star Emmy for best investigative reporter This is one of 10 Emmy awards Brian has been honored with during his careerpp
2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc All Rights Reserved
pp2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc All Rights Reservedp
