Cloudflare Offers Free Cybersecurity Package to Small K-12 Districts

Small K-12 public school districts in the United States are frequent targets of cyberattacks, yet often lack the budget and staff to defend themselves effectively. A 2022 Government Accountability Office report found that schools have experienced significant educational disruption and financial losses from incidents such as ransomware, with recovery times stretching from two months to as long as nine months.

To address this gap, Cloudflare has launched Project Cybersafe Schools, announced August 8, 2023, during the White House's Back to School Safely: K-12 Cybersecurity Summit. The initiative provides eligible districts with a set of Zero Trust security tools at no cost, with no time limit or hidden obligations.

Why Schools Are in the Crosshairs

Threat activity against the education sector is substantial and growing. In Q2 2023, Cloudflare reported blocking an average of 70 million cyber threats per day targeting U.S. education, alongside a 47% quarter-over-quarter increase in DDoS attacks. Publicized incidents include the Los Angeles Unified School District attack where student data was posted online, and the Albuquerque public school system, which closed for two days after a breach of student data. Between 2016 and 2022, the K-12 community documented 1,619 publicly reported cybersecurity incidents.

The problem is acute for smaller districts that lack dedicated security expertise. These organizations are attractive targets precisely because constrained resources leave them exposed to email phishing, credential theft, and ransomware that can halt operations and endanger confidential student records.

Included Services

The program is built around two core protections delivered through Cloudflare's Zero Trust suite:

  • Email Protection: Cloud email security filtering to stop malware-less business email compromise, multichannel phishing, credential harvesting, and other targeted email attacks.
  • DNS Filtering: Blocks access to harmful or unwanted online content such as ransomware and phishing sites, and can also help districts comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

Cloudflare's involvement follows its broader work with vulnerable organizations through initiatives such as Project Galileo, the Athenian Project, and Project Safekeeping, as well as collaborations with CISA, the Department of Education, and the White House as part of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative.

Eligibility and Application

Districts that qualify for Project Cybersafe Schools must meet two criteria:

  • Be a K-12 public school district located in the United States
  • Have up to 2,500 students enrolled in the district

Interested districts can apply at the Project Cybersafe Schools site. For those that do not fit the program's requirements, Cloudflare offers alternative packages with educational pricing; inquiries can be directed to [email protected].