eSN: So when it comes to network protection, it is as much about the human side as it is the techy side?
BP: So that’s tough, especially as I said, we’ve got a small group, so tools like PDQ help us handle the algorithm side. We can keep things patched. We can query to see what versions we’re running—all the boring stuff. I call it the nerd stuff, the stuff that’ll put most people to sleep.
And we’re a big organization. I think we’re right around 10,000 employees. And any organization that has 10,000 employees has turnover. So keeping employees trained is a constant task, just keeping everybody aware. We’ve expanded password requirements. We’re doing multifactor authentication across the board. Everybody from a teacher to a district-wide administrator is using multifactor. We’re launching phishing simulations. And that’s kind of fun. You get to put on your black hoodie and then you design up a quick little phish scenario and toss it out to a group of people and see if you can fool people.
We use a combination of software and scripting and people just to try to keep an eye on things. But my core group at the network level is very small. It’s a dozen people. And, as such, we all wear a lot of hats. It’s a very agile group—I don’t have one person that’s in charge of servers and one person that’s in charge of the firewall—everyone does everything. So when it was time to act, we were able to get everybody moving pretty quickly.
eSN: What advice would you give to a district embarking on defending itself against cyberattack?
BP: I would say, you’ve got to budget your time, just like you would budget your dollars. You’ve got to look at your time and say, you know, what’s important. Yes, putting out the fires is important, but you have to have time to be proactive, to analyze your security posture, and to continuously try to improve it. It doesn’t have to be weeks and weeks at a time. It can be two hours every third Friday. But it’s something you’ve got to do, because if it’s not in the front of your mind, how can it be in the front of everyone else’s mind or even on their mind at all?
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