What are school districts in South Florida, Treasure Coast doing to prevent cybercrimes?

Hackers demand $40M from Broward County Public Schools

WPTV | by Scott Sutton, Sabirah Rayford | April 1, 2021

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Cybersecurity is at the forefront of just about every company and agency seeking to protect their data from hackers.

Given their large quantities of personal data and access to funds, school districts have not been immune to being targets of cybercrimes.

Reports show a ransomware group hacked the Broward County Public Schools last month and demanded $40 million to prevent personal information about students and teachers from being made public.

The school system said they have no intention of paying the ransom.

So, how secure is personal data being stored at school districts in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast?

St. Lucie County

In a statement to WPTV NewsChannel 5, St. Lucie County Public Schools said they have “multiple layers of safety protocols in place to mitigate computer security breaches.” However, spokeswoman Lydia Martin did not elaborate further.

Okeechobee County

Dylan Tedders, the assistant superintendent for administrative services in Okeechobee County, said they work with “third-party groups that provide best practices regarding protecting this information.”

Tedders said this includes an information protocol for protecting their database information.

“I would believe Broward County thought they were taking every precaution also. We hope to learn more about that incident to better prepare our systems and responses,” Tedders said.

With technology always changing, he said they have to stay diligent with protecting their database systems.

Photo: WPTV