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WASHINGTON, D.C. – CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce, is among the organizations participating in a White House meeting today on strengthening cybersecurity in America’s public schools.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will meet with school administrators, educators, private sector companies and nonprofit organizations such as CompTIA on actions to counter the increase in cyberattacks that have targeted schools in recent years.

Amy Kardel, senior vice president, strategic workforce relationships, and Angel L. Piñeiro, Jr., vice president, strategic academic relationships, will represent CompTIA at the White House meeting.

“Ransomware attacks on our schools have a devastating impact, from lost learning time in the classroom to the monetary impacts on school districts,” Kardel said.

CompTIA's upcoming “State of Cybersecurity” research study finds that ransomware is the second-most common threat behind malware, with 34% of all organizations aware of a ransomware attack in the past 12 months.

“Putting schools in the best position to avoid ransomware attacks requires a combination of robust technologies and the skilling and reskilling of staff,” said Kardel. “Equally important, we can educate students on best practices in good cyber hygiene.”

“Focusing on cybersecurity in schools has the added benefit of piquing students’ interest in the many career opportunities in technology generally, and cybersecurity specifically,” Piñeiro noted.

Data from CyberSeek™, the joint initiative of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) NICE program, Lightcast and CompTIA, confirms the importance of an integrated approach to cybersecurity to defend against ransomware attacks. According to CyberSeek’s latest data release, employer hiring activity translated to demand for more than 663,00 professionals with expertise spanning cybersecurity operations, governance, incident response, threat intelligence and more.

CompTIA previously participated in the July 2022 National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit. CompTIA works with federal, state and local government agencies and departments, including the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship, and other industry, workforce and education organizations to expand and diversify cyber workforce training and education.

About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world’s leading information technology (IT) certification and training body. CompTIA is a mission-driven organization committed to unlocking the potential of every student, career changer or professional seeking to begin or advance in a technology career. Each year CompTIA, directly and through its global network of partners, provides millions of people with training, education and certification. To learn more visit https://www.comptia.org/

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Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
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