Educational Institutions

CISA is committed to enhancing school security and student and staff safety. Educational institutions face a wide range of digital and physical threats, ranging from targeted violence to cyberattacks. CISA partners with educational institutions and other organizations throughout government, law enforcement, and communities nationwide and offers a variety of resources, programs, and tools to make our schools safer for students, staff, and parents.

CISA also manages the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse and its corresponding website, SchoolSafety.gov, which offers resources from CISA and other federal agencies to help schools prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from emergency situations. Schools can use this information to develop comprehensive school security plans and create safe and supportive learning environments.

In addition, CISA acknowledges that America needs well trained professionals working in cybersecurity roles in the future. Therefore, CISA partners with organizations to expose young students to cybersecurity concepts in the classroom and encourage older students to enter cybersecurity degree programs.

Featured Content

Cybersecurity for K-12 Education

CISA is working with the K-12 education sector to help raise awareness and understanding of the risks as well as to change behaviors that put us at risk of phishing and other online attacks. We provide tools, information, and resources.

School Safety

Discover how CISA collaborates with other agencies to support K-12 schools and districts in their efforts to improve school safety and security.

Cyber and IT Interns

CISA is hiring current students for paid cyber/IT internships. Start your cyber career with CISA!

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Cybersecurity Education & Career Development

CISA is committed to helping ensure we have a strong pipeline of future cybersecurity leaders.

Featured Articles

CISA and Secret Service Release Toolkit for K-12 Schools to Strengthen School Safety Reporting Programs

MAY 16, 2023 | PRESS RELEASE

The CISA-USSS K-12 Bystander Reporting Toolkit provides strategies K-12 schools and districts can use to implement and enhance safety reporting programs and encourage bystander reporting among students and other members of the school community.

Back to School Safety: Resources to Support Our Nation’s Students and Schools

AUG 29, 2022 | BLOG

This article emphasizes students' rights to access a safe school environment, while also highlighting several resources that indicate CISA's commitment to maintaining the safety and security of our nation’s schools.

CISA Releases Updated K-12 School Security Guide and Assessment Tool

FEB 23, 2022 | PRESS RELEASE

CISA released its third edition of the CISA K-12 School Security Guide and School Security Assessment Tool (SSAT), which include new products to support K-12 schools and communities in their efforts to strengthen security and protect against a range of threats.

National School Safety Summit

The National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security brings federal, state, and local school leaders together to share actionable recommendations that enhance safe and supportive learning environments in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools.

Alerts & Directives

May 11, 2023

Cybersecurity Advisory | AA23-131A

Malicious Actors Exploit CVE-2023-27350 in PaperCut MF and NG

Sep 06, 2022

Cybersecurity Advisory | AA22-249A

#StopRansomware: Vice Society

Dec 10, 2020

Cybersecurity Advisory | AA20-345A

Cyber Actors Target K-12 Distance Learning Education to Cause Disruptions and Steal Data

Services

CISA has compiled a list of free tools and services to help educational institutions further advance their security capabilities. This living repository includes services provided by CISA, widely used open-source tools, and other free tools and services offered by private and public sector organizations.

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Cyber Resilience Review (CRR)

Contact: iodregionaloperations@cisa.dhs.gov

An assessment that evaluates an organization's operational resilience and cybersecurity practices.

Crossfeed

ASSESS YOUR RISK LEVEL

Contact: vulnerability@cisa.dhs.gov

Crossfeed enables organizations to make better-informed risk decisions, provides CISA with greater insight on vulnerabilities in public-facing assets supporting National Critical Functions, and enables CISA to better fulfill its existing vulnerability management requirements.

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CISA Tabletop Exercise Packages

INCREASE YOUR RESILIENCE

Contact: cisa.exercises@cisa.dhs.gov

A comprehensive set of resources designed to assist stakeholders in conducting their own exercises and initiating discussions within their organizations about their ability to address a variety of threat scenarios.