Protecting SLED Organizations: How Schools Can Secure Data Against Modern Threats

Education has always stood as a pillar of society, shaping the future through knowledge and innovation. It’s a system built on trust—between educators, students, families, and the broader community. Yet, behind the familiar scenes of classrooms, lesson plans, and report cards lies a critical yet often unseen vulnerability: the vast and complex digital infrastructure that supports modern education. This infrastructure manages sensitive data such as student records, staff information, financial details, and more, forming the backbone of administrative and learning processes.  

As education increasingly adopts new technology, it has opened a new and daunting challenge: cybersecurity. Much of this is due to growing cyber threats facing the educational sector, with malicious actors exploiting vulnerabilities in its digital systems.  

School systems host a plethora of valuable data, including but not limited to:  

• Admissions information 
  • Student records
  • Financial services 
    • Student aid and school facilities 

• Classroom data 
  • Communal upload portals 
    • Homework and assignments 
  • External research and downloads 
  • Collaboration and storage software 

• Campus information 
  • Student housing applications/documentation 
  • Student accounts 
    • Food stipends, venue access, labs, etc. 
  • On-campus medical care and records 

• Non-student data 
  • Maintenance request portals 
  • Email sharing and attachments 
  • Human resources department 
  • Teacher resource portals 
  • Venue management records 
  • AI platform use and training 
  • Cloud storage across all departments 

Protecting Public Institutions: State, Local, and Education 

SLED, which stands for State, Local (Government) and Education and the organizations that fall under these umbrellas, is a common target for threat actors due to the sensitive nature of the data these industries ingest, store, and share. Exploitation of SLED data happens in numerous ways, from selling personally identifiable information (PII) on the dark web to launching ransomware attacks that paralyze entire systems, including those in the education sector. 

The digital ecosystem of educational agencies includes repositories of information managed by public schools, state education agencies, and local education authorities. This data encompasses a wide array of sensitive records, including student information, employee details, financial data, and operational resources. These records are essential for the smooth functioning of educational institutions, supporting everything from day-to-day operations to strategic decision-making. However, the increasing reliance on digital platforms for learning, communication, and administration has introduced new vulnerabilities, making the security of these agencies a pressing concern. 

Focus on Education: Why Security for Schools Matters 

The rapid transition to online systems, including new course delivery methods and third-party collaboration tools, has significantly expanded the cyber-attack surface for SLED entities including schools. Cybercriminals now exploit weaknesses in these digital infrastructures, targeting sensitive records with ransomware, phishing, and other sophisticated attacks. This growing threat landscape places immense pressure on education systems to secure their data while maintaining accessibility and compliance with privacy laws.  

The sensitive nature of the data types ingested and stored within these organizations makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals, amplifying the urgency to safeguard this information. Considering that these systems house extensive PII repositories for students and staff, a breach can expose these individuals to identity theft and other risks, significantly disrupting the essential operations of educational institutions. From delayed enrollments to compromised payroll systems, the fallout from a data breach can ripple through an entire school district, creating chaos and eroding trust within the community—and future applicants.  

Stringent compliance requirements, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), have heightened the stakes. FERPA mandates strict protocols for protecting student records, and failure to comply can lead to significant penalties, legal consequences, and reputational damage. A single breach can result in lawsuits, government scrutiny, and loss of public confidence, compounding the financial and operational toll on already resource-strapped education systems.  

Compliance Challenges Facing Educational Institutions 

Despite the critical importance of securing public sector (SLED) data and complying with FERPA, these organizations face many challenges that make comprehensive protection difficult to achieve. Budget constraints are among the most significant hurdles, often leaving schools and agencies unable to invest in advanced cybersecurity technologies or retain skilled IT personnel. This lack of resources creates a vulnerable environment where outdated security measures are stretched to their limits.  

Compounding the issue, many schools and universities rely on legacy systems that were never designed to withstand modern cyber threats, making them difficult and expensive to upgrade or secure against sophisticated attacks. In addition, with the use of online learning platforms and third-party collaboration tools, sensitive data may not be reliably tracked. 

These vulnerabilities are exacerbated by the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks targeting the education sector. Ransomware campaigns and phishing schemes exploit these organizations’ resource limitations, threatening to disrupt critical operations or expose sensitive data. At the same time, these entities must navigate complex compliance landscapes, including mandates from FERPA and varying state-level regulations, while managing disparate systems and processes.  

The convergence of these factors creates a perfect storm of risk, leaving many educational organizations struggling to track and protect their data, maintain compliance, and ensure continuity of service in the face of mounting threats. 

Taking a Proactive Approach to Data Security 

To combat their unique challenges, all SLED organizations including schools and universities must adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity, focusing on prevention rather than reaction. Relying solely on reactive measures often means addressing threats only after damage has occurred—a costly and disruptive strategy in today’s threat landscape. Instead, automated tools that identify and neutralize risks in real-time can provide a critical line of defense, safeguarding sensitive data before it is exposed or exploited. By implementing solutions explicitly tailored to the needs of educational environments, such as secure file-sharing practices and continuous monitoring systems, schools and agencies can stay ahead of cybercriminals while maintaining compliance with regulations. 

Addressing Malware Threats to Student Data with CDR 

Due to its ease of execution and repeatability, traditional malware attacks continue to pose a significant threat to educational organizations that handle vast amounts of sensitive information. To combat this, advanced Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) technology provides a proactive defense against these vulnerabilities, denying zero-day threats hidden within files—many of which are the cause of widespread data breaches. 

Unlike traditional security measures that rely on detecting known malware signatures, CDR assumes all files are malicious by default. Following this assumption, CDR deconstructs each file to identify and remove potentially harmful elements, such as macros, scripts, or hidden malicious code, before reconstructing a clean version of the file. In the case of advanced CDR solutions, files are reconstructed while also maintaining the original functionality and usability. This ensures that organizations are protected against known threats and elusive zero-day vulnerabilities that exploit traditional detection gaps—while still allowing students and staff to remain productive. 

Using DDR to Proactively Monitor and Prevent Sensitive Data Exposure 

Depending on the sophistication of the solution, Data Detection and Response (DDR) technology can offer a transformative solution for all SLED organizations, enabling them to proactively monitor and secure sensitive data as well as reduce the risk of breaches. Unlike the many reactive-only tools on the market today, advanced DDR solutions are capable of automatically detecting privacy risks in content before it reaches the organization’s endpoints. 

Applying data obfuscation techniques, such as tokenization or masking or anonymization, DDR is able to prevent the exposure of critical data to unauthorized users while still delivering content to those that need it. Going beyond its immediate protective capabilities, the analytics provided by DDR can help organizations refine their cybersecurity strategies over time. 

How Votiro Protects SLED Organizations 

Proactively neutralizing threats to privacy and those delivered via malware, Votiro’s Zero Trust DDR technology eliminates many of the risks posed by modern threat actors looking to infiltrate state, local, and educational organizations. Here’s how we do it: 

Advanced, Proactive CDR: Through real-time file sanitization, Votiro ensures that every piece of content entering an organization is free from hidden threats before it reaches the endpoint. This approach is particularly critical for schools and education agencies where sensitive data, such as student records and staff information, is frequently shared across platforms. 

Meanwhile, our patented Positive Selection® CDR technology retains the integrity and functionality of reconstructed files—allowing students, teachers, and administrators to continue their work without disruption.  

Real-time Data Masking: Votiro’s advanced data privacy solution allows organizations to mask data while it’s still in motion, helping educational institutions monitor and control access to sensitive information and ensure compliance with regulations like FERPA—all while maintaining operational efficiency across multiple departments. 

Combining the very best of DDR and CDR technologies under one platform, Votiro is able to provide comprehensive protection for educational institutions and ensure that educational systems and their critical data remain secure. This enables SLED organizations to operate efficiently without fear of hidden threats and non-compliant data that resides in seemingly innocuous content delivered through common vectors such as email, shared drives, and collaborative platforms.  

Plus, with actionable threat and privacy (PCI) analytics, Votiro helps organizations proactively adjust policies and strengthen their security frameworks against the threats of today and tomorrow. 

Try Votiro Today 

Votiro’s solutions streamline cybersecurity efforts by automating threat mitigation and reducing false positives. This allows resource-strapped schools and districts to focus on their core mission of education without being overwhelmed by cybersecurity noise. Easy to integrate into existing systems, Votiro offers a scalable and cost-effective way for schools to protect their data while meeting regulatory requirements.  

Sign up for a one-on-one demo of the platform to learn more about Votiro’s Data Detection and Response capabilities and how we help protect public institutions including schools, state, and local governments (SLED). You can also try Votiro free for 30 days and see for yourself how we can proactively protect your organization from malicious code and sensitive data exposure.