Greenbush K12 Tech Blog

S chools hold some of the most sensitive student data: personal details, grades, medical information, and behavioral records. Protecting this data isn’t just a compliance requirement (FERPA, COPPA, state laws),  it’s about safeguarding the trust of families and students. The challenge? Most schools don’t have the budget for expensive data privacy platforms. But the good news is: you can significantly improve student data protection using free, built-in tools and practices. Here are five practical steps every school can take. 1. Strengthen Account Security Most student data breaches begin with compromised accounts. The fix? Strong authentication. Microsoft 365 / Entra ID: Require MFA for staff and admins. Google Workspace for Education: Enforce 2-Step Verification for staff and administrators. Students: Consider enabling MFA for older students while balancing usability. Impact: Even if a password is phished, attackers can’t access student records without the second factor. 2. ...

Most schools today run either Google Workspace for Education or Microsoft 365 for email, collaboration, and identity. Unfortunately, attackers know this too, and they target school accounts with phishing, password spraying, and credential theft. The good news is you don’t need to buy premium licenses to improve security. Both platforms include free settings that can significantly reduce risk if you enable them. Here are 5 to prioritize in every school environment. 1. Require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Why it matters: Passwords alone aren’t enough. MFA stops most account takeover attempts cold. Microsoft 365 / Entra: Go to Entra Admin Center → Security → Conditional Access . Enforce MFA for admins first, then expand to all staff. Students can be handled differently depending on age/policy. Google Workspace: Admin Console → Security → Authentication → 2-Step Verification. Enforce for staff and administrators. Use security keys or mobile apps for stronger protection. Impact: Eve...

Cybersecurity doesn’t have to mean expensive software and massive budgets. In fact, many schools and small IT teams have successfully built strong defenses using free and open-source tools. Here are five that I’ve seen make a real difference in education and resource-constrained environments. 1. Wazuh – Free SIEM and EDR Platform Why it matters: Schools often can’t afford Splunk or CrowdStrike, but they still need visibility into logs and endpoints. Wazuh provides free SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) capabilities. Key Features: Collects logs from Windows, Linux, firewalls, and more. Detects suspicious behavior with built-in rules. Provides dashboards and alerting. How to start: Deploy Wazuh on a Linux VM and forward logs from endpoints. Even with a small deployment, you’ll gain valuable visibility. Documentation: Installing Wazuh 2. Sysmon (Sysinternals) Why it matters: Windows’ default logs don’t always give enough detail. Sy...