Students and teachers in Rochester Public Schools finished last week without Internet because suspicious activity on the district’s technology network forced them offline.

This incident comes after a hacker group called Medusa stole the personal information of students and employees from Minneapolis Public Schools.

In March, Medusa demanded $1 million from the district and then posted the personal information to the dark web, a part of the Internet where users are untraceable.

Minnesota schools aren’t the only ones vulnerable to cyberattacks.

There have been 1,619 cybersecurity-related incidents in K-12 public schools in the U.S. between 2016 and 2022, according to the K12 Security Information eXchange, a national nonprofit that helps schools protect themselves from cybersecurity threats.

MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with two cybersecurity experts about why schools are so vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks, why and how hackers steal personal information, and how people can keep their digital information safe.

Guests:

• Eric Brown is the founder and managing partner of IT Audit Labs, a Saint Paul company that helps organizations identify security threats and tells them how to fix their digital vulnerabilities.




• Doug Levin is the director of the K-12 Security Information Exchange, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization focused on protecting schools and state education agencies from emerging cybersecurity threats.

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.