School looks vastly different today. For many students, it requires using a school-issued device to continue learning from home. It also involves logging in to digital platforms to attend live classes, view and submit assignments and connect with peers.

This new learning environment is certainly necessary during the pandemic. But as school leaders start to think about long-term plans for online learning, it’s even more imperative to prepare for the inevitable: increasing cyberattacks.

Bad actors continue to interrupt video calls and invade today’s online classrooms, meaning schools and districts can’t let their guard down. There are districts that recently experienced ransomware attacks, pushing some to delay the start of school. But there are also internal threats for which IT teams need to remain vigilant.

Without the proper security protocols in place, it’s easy to overlook a student or school employee posting confidential information online, sharing invite links to classroom meetings on public web pages or using school-issued Google accounts to download unapproved browser extensions and applications.