Cyber Safety: Balancing Safety and Program Support

Presenters: Peter Drescher

Friday, 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM, Chateaugay

Presentation Link

Peter Drescher, Director of Technology and Innovation at Essex Westford will discuss the ways he and his district are framing the conversation about Cyber Safety and Security. The work on this began when Peter started at EWSD in 2020 and has continued to develop since. A robust CyberSecurity plan has been developed, with help from AOE funding, and incident scenarios have been orchestrated with leadership teams as well as a concerted communication effort to drive home the importance of cyber safety with staff and teachers. Peter will discuss the efforts made around multi-factor authentication, phishing mitigation, the implementation of a robust backup solution, as well as some of the experiences the district has had working with a vendor on "testing" our network and systems. It has been eye-opening for sure. He'll also share some of the resources and while he won't share the plan they have developed, due to its sensitive nature, he'll discuss strategies you might employ to get some of the same results. This session will pose questions to you as audience members too for your consideration when returning to your districts.