When, Not If
Security experts say there are two types of organizations: those that have been breached and those that don't know they've been breached. Preparation is essential—response plans should be ready before incidents occur.
Immediate Response Steps
1. Contain the Breach
Stop ongoing data loss: isolate affected systems, change compromised credentials, and block unauthorized access. Speed matters.
2. Assess the Scope
Determine what data was exposed, how many students are affected, and how the breach occurred. Document everything.
3. Notify Appropriately
State laws vary on breach notification requirements. Know your obligations: who must be notified, within what timeframe, and what information to include.
4. Support Affected Families
Provide information about what happened, what data was exposed, and what steps families should take. Consider credit monitoring for serious breaches.
FERPA Compliance
Ensure your data practices meet FERPA requirements and protect student privacy.
Building Breach Response Plans
- • Response team: Who handles breach response? Roles and contact information.
- • Decision authority: Who can make time-sensitive decisions?
- • Communication templates: Pre-drafted notifications ready to customize
- • Legal review: Access to legal counsel for compliance guidance
- • Technical resources: IT/security expertise for investigation
Prevention Focus
While response planning is essential, prevention is better: regular security assessments, staff training on phishing and social engineering, access controls limiting who can reach sensitive data, encryption of stored data, and vendor security requirements.
Resources & Guides
Access implementation guides, best practices, and training materials for your team.
Key Takeaways
- Immediate steps: contain, assess scope, notify required parties, support affected families.
- Build response plans before incidents occur, including team, authority, and templates.
- Prevention through security assessments, training, and access controls reduces breach risk.
Marcus Johnson
Director of Data Science
Data scientist specializing in educational analytics with expertise in growth modeling and predictive analytics for student outcomes.
