Cloudflare has introduced a new initiative aimed at improving cybersecurity for K-12 public school districts at no cost: Project Cybersafe Schools. This new program will provide a suite of Zero Trust cybersecurity solutions to give small school districts faster, safer Internet browsing and email security – at no cost, and with no time limit.
Unlike many colleges, universities, and larger school districts, smaller school districts often lack the capacity or funding to protect against cyber threats – making schools a prime target for cybercriminals. In Q2 2023 alone, Cloudflare blocked an average of 70 million cyberthreats each day targeting the U.S. education sector. On August 7, the White House hosted its Back to School Safely: Cybersecurity for K-12 Schools event. With Project Cybersafe Schools, Cloudflare shared their commitment with the White House to help under-resourced and vulnerable schools better secure themselves.
“Every day, our schools face cyberattacks that can slow Internet access, threaten leaks of confidential student data, and hinder their ability to teach children in a secure online space,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO, Cloudflare. “As another school year is set to begin, we are committed – in tandem with the White House – to help our nation’s schools better protect themselves so they can focus on what they do best: teaching students.”
Eligible schools district will have access to Zero Trust cybersecurity services for free and with no time limit, to help them:
- Safeguard inboxes from targeted cyberattacks: with cloud email security that protects against a broad spectrum of threats including multichannel phishing, credential harvesting, and other targeted attacks
- Stop the leak of confidential student data: by preemptively blocking phishing, Business Email Compromise attacks, malware-less fraud, and other incessant attacks
- Improve overall Internet browsing experience: by preventing users from reaching unwanted or harmful online content like ransomware or phishing sites with DNS filtering
To be eligible, Project CyberSafe School participants must be K-12 public school districts located in the United States with up to 2,500 students in the district. The offerings to eligible school districts will be at no cost, with no time limit, and can be used as a technology protection mechanism for Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliance.
