September 2016 Meeting

In July, 2015 the website fedscoop featured the article, Cybersecurity in K-12 education: Schools face increased risk of cyber attacks, citing, among other instances, a 2013 breach of student data at Sachem CSD. Three years later such threats have increased exponentially, yet most school districts are ill-prepared to defend against them. As such, the topic of Network Security will be an area of focus throughout the year. To get us started, Chris Reinertsen will share lessons learned from a cybersecurity audit of the Nassau BOCES Network Operations Center and discuss some of the basic precautions districts should have in place or should be planning to implement in the near future.

Over the past few years millions of PCs have been locked or had their files encrypted by malware programs designed to extort money from users. Collectively known as ransomware, these malicious applications have become a global scourge for consumers, businesses, governments, health care institutions, and now, increasingly, even K – 12 schools. Dell Security Solutions Engineer Stephen Beausejour will share his expertise to help us gain a better understand of these advanced threats as well as DDOS, malware, adware, phishing exploits, hostname re-directs, fake WAP’s, keystroke trackers, cookie-theft and more. Learn some basic precautions and best practices for protecting your district including a few easy and affordable solutions available with Dell’s Endpoint Security Suite Enterprise in this Cybersecurity Overview.

Just as we featured district presentations on their use of Mobile Devices last year, we’ll be inviting those districts that are utilizing a Learning Management System to share their experiences, successes, and challenges. We’d like to thank Ed Kemnitzer for offering to get the ball rolling by presenting Massapequa’s use of PowerSchool Learning (formerly Haiku Learning). In preparation, you can read the following PowerSchool Learning case study, Massapequa School District Streamlines 21^st Century Learning, and we’ll also make available an LMS Snapshot for each district presentation.

Pre-Meeting Session (12:00 – 1:00)
New Horizons Technology Courses

Did you know that you or anyone from your district can purchase New Horizons technology courses at a steep discount as part of your NASTECH membership? Corporate Training Advisor Jason Stomieroski will be on hand to discuss course content and the New Horizons’ Integrated Learning approach and flexible delivery options including Classroom Learning, Online LIVE Learning, Online ANYTIME Learning, and Mentored Learning. For a full listing of discounted courses visit the New Horizons page on the NASTECH web site.