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Welcome to Protect.
Protect is the SPS initiative focused on protecting student and staff data, as well as providing information security resources to our community.
We will provide regular updates about efforts at SPS to protect critical and confidential information, as well as demonstrate examples of best practices you can adopt to protect your personal information at home.
Currently, as part of Protect, Springfield Public Schools aligns curriculum with strong Digital Citizenship, utilizes robust Digital Tools, adheres to Information Security protocols established by industry standards, and steadfastly secures Student Data.
How will we achieve this, and how do we measure our progress?
One of the major approaches that SPS is taking to ensure the privacy of our student's information is to work towards earning a nationally recognized seal of data security standards. We are striving to earn the Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) seal, which is a program created by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) by 28 member school districts.
SPS is using this program to guide our approach to Protect, and to show our commitment to keep our student's data private and secure.
Updates
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USB Removable Drives - Use caution
Posted by Sean Burch on 4/16/2021 7:00:00 AMRemovable USB drives might be a convenient way to transport data, however they can be easily stolen, misplaced, lost or “borrowed” without permission. As stewards of student, employee, community and parent information, all staff members at SPS have an obligation to take steps to safeguard and protect personal data. Always be careful with what you store, and where you store it!
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2020 Holiday shopping tips!
Posted by Sean Burch on 12/10/2020 12:00:00 PM -
October is Cyber Security Awareness month...
Posted by Sean Burch on 10/2/2020 2:00:00 PMThe Center for Internet Security has some excellent tips:
https://www.cisecurity.org/blog/cis-recognizes-cybersecurity-awareness-month/
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Tips for Spotting Scams
Posted by Sean Burch on 6/29/2020 6:00:00 AM“Learn the three golden rules to thwart scammers: Slow it down, Spot check, and Stop! Don’t send. Learn more at https://scamspotter.org/”
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Phishing Alert
Posted by Sean Burch on 5/26/2020 10:00:00 AMThis week, Microsoft warned about a massive phishing attack that looks like it is from Johns Hopkins University and has an Excel attachment which claims to have stats about the number of coronavirus deaths in America. If you open that attachment and click on 'Enable Content', it will download software that allows cybercriminals to take over your computer and steal confidential information. So, don't open any Excel files from Johns Hopkins!
NOTE: there will be more scams like this, so please remember to always Think Before You Click!
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CISA recommendations for Home Network Security
Posted by Sean Burch on 5/8/2020 6:00:00 AM -
COVID19 Scams
Posted by Sean Burch on 4/13/2020 6:00:00 AM -
Guidance from the Center for Internet Security
Posted by Sean Burch on 4/1/2020 7:35:00 AMCIS is the Center for Internet Security. This link has some very helpful information about how to avoid certain scams on the internet. A lot of Americans are working and learning from home, including teachers, parents and students. One of the only ways we can protect our information is through diligently paying attention to what we click on and what we are opening. Please take a minute to read through CIS's guide to avoiding some of the common pitfalls.
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March 2020 • The Monthly Security Awareness Newsletter for Everyone
Posted by Sean Burch on 3/6/2020SANS Security Awareness has a great article about digital spring cleaning, the principals in the article can be applied to both your work and home digital lives.
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Social Security scam calls
Posted by Sean Burch on 1/1/2020 6:00:00 AMHow to report robocalls from Social Security imposters
Anyone receiving robocalls can report them to the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission or Social Security Administration to help officials determine trends. Here are links to file a report with each:- Report calls to the FCC: fcc.gov
- Report calls to the FTC: gov/complaint
- Report calls to the SSA: ssa.gov/ipff/home
