Advancing Data Security In EdTech

Geoffrey Alphonso, CEO at Alef Education.

As educational technology (edtech) evolves and transforms the student learning experience, ensuring the security and privacy of student data has become a primary concern. Parents and educators worldwide are increasingly apprehensive about this issue, especially in light of recent data breaches of edtech platforms. These breaches have underscored the importance of implementing robust cybersecurity measures to protect student data. In the digital landscape in which edtech operates, there are opportunities and challenges when protecting sensitive information. Developers recognize this and prioritize data security in the new era of edtech.

An Increase In Data Breaches In Edtech

A wake-up call came in 2020 from a report by the International Digital Accountability Council (IDAC), which revealed that several edtech applications had exposed personal user data, including email addresses, names, cities and other vital data, through the query parameters in the URL. This discovery underscored the need for developers to adhere to best practices and conduct thorough URL audits to prevent potential leakage of personal data.

In fact, 2021 marked the peak of data breaches in education, surpassing all previous years, as 771 institutions and approximately 2.6 million files were compromised in the U.S. Most of this was due to the Illuminate Education data breach, which affected at least 605 institutions. The following year, nearly 1.4 million records were affected in 96 security breaches. In 2023, there were 11 security breaches affecting more than 3,500 records in the U.S. just from January to April. As a result, the security of online platforms, the protection of student data and the prevention of unauthorized access are all issues that edtech companies frequently face.

Edtech Cybersecurity Challenges

The cybersecurity challenges faced by edtech companies are multitudinous, including protecting student data from unauthorized access and breaches, securing online platforms from cyber threats and implementing robust authentication mechanisms. Ensuring data security in a rapidly evolving technological landscape is becoming increasingly complex with…