Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid is urging national elected officials to step up their efforts to safeguard local schools from cybercrime threats.
During a Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce event in Tysons on Monday (March 11), Reid asked Sen. Mark Warner about Congress’s strategy to address privacy threats to FCPS students and staff and other communities nationwide that are susceptible to ransomware attacks.
“Every division in this country, right now, we’re all being asked to stand up cybersecurity departments,” she told Warner during a question and answer session. “Our department is actually larger than a number of our instructional departments.”
Warner visited the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s offices at the Silverline Center (7900 Westpark Drive) to discuss several issues, expressing confidence in the passage of a second federal spending bill later this month and emphasizing the necessity of Congress providing aid to Ukraine.
As chair of the Senate’s National Security and International Trade and Finance Committee, he also spoke passionately about the need for protection against cyber threats both domestically and abroad, with a particular focus on social media platforms like TikTok.
The U.S. House of representatives is expected to vote on a bipartisan bill this week requiring TikTok to either be divested from its Chinese owner ByteDance or face a nationwide ban. Although it’s not clear whether the Senate is on the same page, Warner said he supports putting up “guardrails.”
“I think TikTok is a national security issue,” he told a room full of attendees. “…People make the money off of TikTok as social influencers. I’m all for that. It just bothers me that this company is ultimately controlled by the Communist Party of China.”
The emphasis on cybersecurity led Reid and others to question the need for increased federal regulation of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, calling current regulations insufficient to protect schools which have had to stand up their own cyber security departments as a result.
“I want my focus to be on making sure all our third graders are learning to read, and our eighth graders are able to complete algebra 2,” Reid said. “…I’ve been asked this year for another 20 positions for cybersecurity, with a conversation about [how] we have to protect our 180,000 students’ data or 40,000 staff members, and I’m not a cybersecurity expert.”
In September 2020, FCPS was hit by a cyber attack from a hacker group called MAZE, which compromised personal records, including the social security numbers of several hundred employees. The group threatened to leak employee records and other sensitive documents unless the division paid a ransom.
FCPS told NBC4 that it had hired cybersecurity experts and the FBI was investigating the attack.
Last November, FCPS faced another significant data breach after it mistakenly disclosed tens of thousands of confidential student records to a parent. The school system wrapped up its investigation into the leak the following month.
When asked whether Congress has a strategy beyond relying on the FBI to ensure the safety of school divisions from such threats, Warner said he and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have already proposed legislation to mitigate cybersecurity threats in schools.
However, Warner pointed out that even if the bill were to pass, it would just a “band-aid.”
“I don’t have a great answer because even though we keep getting better, the bad guys keep getting better,” he said.
Recent Stories
Sushi Umi has arrived in Tysons. The Japanese restaurant began accepting pick-up orders at 7615 Colshire Road in the Scotts Run neighborhood on April 19 and quietly opened to dine-in…
In the future, Herndon hopes to see a vast swath of land near its Metro station transformed from aging, auto-centric commercial lots into a mixed-use, interconnected neighborhood. That vision solidified…
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has signed off on a 3-cent bump in its real estate tax rate, a move it said was partly forced by insufficient state funding….
The Vienna Community Center will be abuzz with activity this Saturday (May 4), thanks to the simultaneous return of the town’s farmers market and native plant sale. Operated by the…
Good news, D.C. area. You can save money on your next home cleaning with Well-Paid Maids. It’s easy!
We offer a discount when you set up recurring cleans — and the discounts just increased this week!
For weekly cleans, get $30 off each cleaning.
Potomac Harmony is Back! Following a gap year of competing, then virtual rehearsals during the pandemic, followed by the well-earned retirement of our long-term director, a year of a director search, Potomac Harmony hit the regional contest stage in Concord, North Carolina in March for the first time since 2018! It was exhilarating, reaffirming, and rewarding!
The chorus hit all of its goals, the biggest of which was to have fun and sing our best on contest stage — we did both! Because we earned a score over 400 points, our new Director, Allison Lynskey, was awarded the Novice Director award, photo above. Additionally, one of our charter members, Jackie Bottash, was nominated for and honored with the Leadership Excellence award. It was a celebratory weekend!
What’s next? So much! We now look forward to upcoming performances, growing our membership, and expanding our musical product with new arrangements and an education component each week. It’s an exciting time to be part of this ever-growing ensemble!
Pedal with Petals Family Bike Ride
Join us on Saturday, May 11th and ride into spring during our Pedal with Petals Family Bike Ride. Back for its second year, Pedal with Petals is going to be bigger than ever. This year’s event will include both an
Encore Creativity for Older Adults at Capital One Hall
Encore Creativity for Older Adults is pleased to raise the curtain and welcome community members to its spring concert at Capital One Hall in Tysons, VA on May 4, 2024. The concert, which starts at 3 PM, will bring hundreds
