The University of Montana’s Safe Schools Center (MSSC) was awarded a federal STOP School Violence Grant. Included in the grant is hosting cybersecurity training to assist K-12 schools in learning more about the topic.

In November of 2020, the Montana Safe Schools Center conducted a survey with Montana public schools to determine K-12 needs to understand what cybersecurity issues Montana schools face.

Feedback from that survey included the request for training on cyber-breach response plans, network and data monitoring, school student/staff education on risk and safety protocols and cyberbullying. 

MSSC in partnership with Missoula College’s National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense have brought together local, state, and federal trainers to build a curriculum that will provide research, training, and best practices to keep schools safe from cyber-attacks. The goal of the training is to provide problem-solving skills, teach technical aptitude, and lessons learned from cyber attacks in the State of Montana.

It is our hope that after completion of the training, you will have a better understanding on how to defend your computers, servers, networks, electronic systems, and data from malicious attacks.

The Montana Safe Schools Center is offering a micro-credential course in Cybersecurity. Micro-credentials are an exciting and innovative trend in professional development and higher education that offer practical applications to a diverse population of learners.

The Montana Safe Schools Center is pleased to announce that the micro-credentialed cybersecurity course is live and available for registration. The course currently covers eight modules that include…

Module 1: National Cybersecurity Issues Schools Face

Module 3: How to Educate Students, Parents, and Teachers of the Potential Risks

Module 4: Network Monitoring

Module 5: Cyberbullying

Module 6: Cyber-Breach Planning

Module 7: Student Data Privacy HIPAA/FERPA

Module 8: Network Risk Assessment

Module 9: Cyber Security Education

Please see the registration link to access the course.

Cost is $25.00 and the course will be available until May 31, 2022.