K-12 Cybersecurity Insider | 1/12/2026 edition
A biweekly newsletter providing curated cybersecurity news to the K-12 community, as a public service of K12 SIX. Sign up for the K12 SIX mailing list to have future editions delivered to your inbox.
Mark Your Calendar
~~ Happy new year! ~~
1/27 - ‘Cybersecurity in the Classroom: From Reactive Recovery to Proactive Prevention’ Webinar (sponsored by Abnormal AI)
1/28 - K12 SIX Monthly Membership Meeting (member-only)
2026 National K-12 Cybersecurity Leadership Conference
Hosted by the K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX), the 2026 National K-12 Cybersecurity Leadership Conference is a unique event designed for all K-12 cybersecurity practitioners to identify and share solutions and best practices to better defend school communities from emerging cybersecurity threats, such as ransomware and data breaches. The fourth annual conference will be held February 24-26 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Named a “top K-12 conference to attend in 2026” by K-12 Dive. Advance registration required; conference room block selling out fast.
Preliminary agenda posted (updated 1/11).
Featuring: Workshops, Tabletop exercise, Birds of a Feather networking, Peer-led educational sessions, Exhibit hall
Learn from experts at the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA/DHS) and U.S. Department of Education/Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)
And much more
In the News
On December 15, 2025, Minersville Area School District (PA) was victimized by a cyber attack. Upon discovery of the incident, which included attempts to install malware on school system devices, the district shut down all IT systems - resulting in a four day school closure right before the holiday break. According to the Superintendent, schools were closed not only because instruction would have been affected by the loss of technology, but because the district’s computer system and the internet are also crucial to running security and communications in the buildings. In a communication to the school community, the district acknowledges the possibility of a data breach and the wisdom of implementing a credit freeze at each of the three major credit reporting bureaus.
AL School District Notifies Parents of Holiday Cyber Attack, Data Breach
Also victimized this holiday season, Pell City (AL) School System reported a recent ‘security incident’ to school community members. The Superintendent said that while the student information system did not appear to be affected, some data had been exfiltrated from district servers. Comparitech notes that the cyber criminal group SafePay did take credit for the December 2025 incident on their dark web leak site. NOTE: K12 SIX analyses identify SafePay as being the most prolific in targeting the U.S. K-12 education sector during the 2025 calendar year. For more on SafePay, see “Unmasking the SafePay Ransomware Group.”
FBI Recovers More than $300k Scammed from TN School System
About a year ago, Washington County (TN) Public Schools staff were tricked into sending a wire transfer of $335,215 to cyber criminals instead of the company the district had hired to undertake $1.5 million in security system renovations. Within three days, the error was discovered and officials were notified - and that made all the difference. A recently released financial audit (November 2025) classified the incident as a material weakness in internal controls, noting that existing policy lacked guidance to verify payment method changes and wire transfers before processing disbursements. Going forward, verbal confirmation of any bank routing changes will be made using verified vendor telephone numbers. Readers would do well to note that these type of phishing scams targeting K-12 accounts payable staff are common and have resulted in some of the largest direct financial losses attributable to cyber crime that school systems have experienced.
Members Get More
The K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX) operates as the independent, non-profit information sharing and analysis center (ISAC) exclusively for the K-12 education sector. Founded in 2020, organizations eligible for membership include school districts, charter schools and charter management organizations, private/independent schools, regional education agencies, and state education agencies. K12 SIX members get more.