Tag Archive for: SCHOOLS.

BILL CRAWFORD — Biloxi legislators push innovative learning in schools | MS Business Journal

/in




education




Incessant innovation is the key to economic growth suggested Martin Wolf in The Financial Times. “Historical experience confirms that growth is a race to the top,” he wrote. “It means exploiting new opportunities that generate enduring advantages in high-productivity sectors and so high wages.”

Could this have meaning for Mississippi? And what role, if any, should government play?

Yes. And government does have a role Wolf said, drawing from “Windows of Opportunity” by David Sainsbury.

“There are four possible strategies towards innovation: leave it to the market; support the supply of relevant factors of production (science and skilled people); support key industries and technologies; and pick specific firms/technologies/products.” According to Sainsbury Wolf said, “that governments should do the second and third, but not the last.”

They may not have read Wolf’s essay or Sainsbury’s book, but two Biloxi legislators have bought into the notions that Mississippi needs science and skilled people to spur innovative economic growth and that government has a role in providing that.

Sen. Scott Delano and Rep. Kevin Felsher introduced bills to require “the study of computers, algorithmic processes, coding and logical thinking, including computer principles, their hardware and software designs, their implementation and their impact on society” in all K-12 schools. The House and Senate both passed similar versions of the Mississippi Computer Science And Cyber Education Equality Act. Felsher said he expected the House to concur with a Senate technical amendment which would assure final passage. The bill would then go to the Governor for final approval.



…

Source…

Buffalo Public Schools working to resolve ransomware attack

/in


The school district posted on Twitter Saturday morning saying it’s working with “technology industry experts and law authorities to resolve the ransomware event.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Public School District says it’s still working to resolve problems connected to a ransomware attack on its computer system Friday.

The school district posted on Twitter Saturday morning saying it’s working with “technology industry experts and law authorities to resolve the ransomware event.” 

The Buffalo Public School District went on to say that it continues to work on protecting its information systems and will provide updates as “progress is made toward Monday’s school day.”

Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash told reporters Friday that if the situation is not resolved over the weekend school may be canceled next week. All remote instruction was cancelled Friday as a result of the ransomware event. 

According to Cash, the school district approved a $40,000 emergency contract with Grey Castle for a cyber security investigation. The FBI is also assisting the district.

School officials say no demands have been made at this time; however, they say the FBI believes the ransom may be between $100,000 to $300,000 and could be negotiable.

“This could have a significant impact on our operations going forward into next week,” Cash said. “We are hoping that we can solve this issue this weekend. We will be bringing the consultant on site and getting to work right away, but it may take time, and we just don’t know until we know exactly the depth and the breadth of the problem.”


…

Source…

Buffalo Public Schools targeted by ransomware attack, could cause school cancellation

/in


Dr. Kriner Cash said if the situation is not resolved this weekend, some school may be canceled next week.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Public Schools canceled all remote instruction Friday after the district said their school computer system suffered a ransomware event.

The district put out a statement early Friday morning, saying there was an “unanticipated interruption” in the network systems.

“It is unfortunate that we find ourselves in this place and time, where our school district is attacked by criminals, and we are subject to their demands,” Buffalo Public Schools board president Sharon Belton -Cottman said.

Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash said they’ve disconnected systems from the internet and added that they are trying to contain the attack and assess the situation. He said they’ve approved a $40,000 emergency contract with Grey Castle for a cyber security investigation.


The district said at this time no demands have been made, but the FBI has found that ransom may be between $100,000 to $300,000 and could be negotiable.

The FBI is assisting the district. The district is also getting help from cybersecurity consultants from as far as Atlanta and from major corporations such as M&T Bank, Cash said.

“With regard to this particular ransomware attack, it encrypted our data files, so it has handicapped us in terms of being able to access our system,” according to BPS chief technology officer Myra Burden.

Dr. Cash said it was important to spread the message Friday evening because if the situation is not resolved this weekend, school may be canceled next…

Source…

Security camera hack exposes live feeds from hospitals, workplaces and schools

/in


Hackers aiming to call attention to the dangers of mass surveillance say they were able to peer into hospitals, schools, factories, jails and corporate offices after they broke into the systems of a security-camera startup.

That California startup, Verkada, said Wednesday it is investigating the scope of the breach, first reported by Bloomberg News, and has notified law enforcement and its customers.

Swiss hacker Tillie Kottmann, a member of the group that calls itself APT-69420 Arson Cats, described it in an online chat with The Associated Press as a small collective of “primarily queer hackers, not backed by any nations or capital but instead backed by the desire for fun, being gay and a better world.”

They were able to gain access to a Verkada “super” administrator account using valid credentials found online, Kottmann said. Verkada said in a statement that it has since disabled all internal administrator accounts to prevent any unauthorized access.

But for two days, the hackers said, they were able to peer unhindered into live feeds from potentially tens of thousands of cameras, including many that were watching sensitive locations such as hospitals and schools. Kottmann said that included outdoor and indoor cameras at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 26 first-grade students and six educators were killed in 2012 by a gunman in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

The school district’s superintendent didn’t return calls or emailed requests for comment Wednesday.

One of Verkada’s affected customers, the San Francisco web infrastructure and security company Cloudflare, said the compromised Verkada cameras were watching entrances and main thoroughfares to some of its offices that have been closed for nearly a year due to the pandemic.

“As soon as we were notified of the breach, we proceeded to shut down the cameras in all our office locations to prevent further access,” said John Graham-Cumming, the company’s chief technology officer, in a blog post. “To be clear: this hack affected the…

Source…