Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an advisory encouraging public awareness of cyber threat concerns related to K-12 students. Â According to the FBI, the rapid growth of education technologies and collection of student data could have privacy implications if compromised or exploited.
The advisory notes that, while there are many benefits to new education technologies, malicious use of the data collected could result in social engineering, bullying, tracking, identity theft, or other means for targeting children.
The FBI recommends that parents and families take action to protect sensitive data collected by education technologies used at school, such as:
- Know your rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendments (PPRA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and state law.
- Learn what and how education technologies are used in their student’s school.
- Consider credit or identity theft monitoring to check for fraudulent use of their children’s identity.
- Conduct regular internet searches of their children’s information to help identify the exposure and spread of information on the internet.
You can access the full FBI advisory and recommendations for protecting student information used in education technology at school by clicking the following link: