{"id":196738,"date":"2026-03-17T11:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/the-overwatch-foundation-helps-schools-thwart-hackers-protect-student-data\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T12:35:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T16:35:14","slug":"the-overwatch-foundation-helps-schools-thwart-hackers-protect-student-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/the-overwatch-foundation-helps-schools-thwart-hackers-protect-student-data\/","title":{"rendered":"The Overwatch Foundation helps schools thwart hackers, protect student data"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Overwatch Foundation helps schools thwart hackers, protect student data<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/2026\/03\/17\/overwatch-foundation-cybersecurity-schools-nh\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-17 11:51:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.concordmonitor.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. <\/p>\n

A hacker infiltrating the local high school doesn\u2019t sound like much of a threat in today\u2019s threat-filled world, but Alyssa Rosenzweig begs to differ. She knows what the bad guys are after: students\u2019 data.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not an immediate threat but, in 10 years, when they go to apply for their first loan, then it will show up,\u201d she said. \u201cCriminals are very patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stealing students\u2019 information to impersonate them online isn\u2019t a theoretical concern. Case in point: A massive breach of security at PowerSchool, an education software provider, exposed data belonging to some 9,000 people in New Hampshire \u2014 students, teachers and staff \u2014 as well as hundreds of thousands nationwide last December.<\/p>\n

That personal information is now available for the taking. Bad actors can use it for things such as taking out credit cards, overriding social media accounts or filing fake insurance claims, which can ruin credit histories and cause years of turmoil to the victim.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already seen it. People who were 17 when that breach happens, they turn 18 and their data\u2019s out there. Suddenly it\u2019s being sold, monetized, all that,\u201d Rosenzweig said.<\/p>\n

Rosenzweig is familiar with this in her role as deputy director of The Overwatch Foundation, an unusual four-year-old nonprofit that helps local governments in New Hampshire plan against and deal with online threats. Last year, the foundation focused on water and wastewater treatment plants, an often-overlooked vulnerability, and this year it launched what they call the K-12 Cybersecurity in a Box program, which makes a portfolio of cybersecurity services available to public schools.<\/p>\n

The program faces two big obstacles: money and attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have two people on staff that used to be school I.T. staff. They say the school was always willing to spend more money on a physical security thing instead of the digital. They would lose battles constantly \u2014 \u2018I want this money\u2019 or we could add to the baseball field. [\u2026] Towns too; they\u2019d rather buy another plow than invest in basic cybersecurity,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get people to vote yes on a warrant article [\u2026] about tech support.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Overwatch Foundation\u2019s funding comes from FEMA and is slated to last through 2030.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t provide 24\/7 tech help \u2014 the foundation, based in Concord, has just 10 full-time employees \u2014 but give expertise and advice on ways to educate people to avoid phishing or other routes for network breaches. They also help in getting grants to buy technical packages like one offered by Texas firm CrowdStrike.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe encourage understaffed schools to go the managed route,\u201d Rosenzweig said of hiring a company. \u201cThat\u2019s the only way you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosenzweig said the foundation has so far been involved with CrowdStrike licenses for \u201chigh value targets\u201d that protect around 75,000 students. <\/p>\n

The foundation is working to build a statewide database of knowledge that all schools can use to boost their protection.<\/p>\n

But perhaps its biggest job is to getting the word out, said Rosenzweig, because cybersecurity is like herd immunity: the more people have protection the better everybody is. They try to move cybersecurity from the bottom of most operational priority lists and make it higher, responding to concern about hacking from other governments or criminal groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround 50% of municipalities in New Hampshire are working with us [\u2026] a lot haven\u2019t received their first touch yet,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve only been around two years. When you\u2019re new, you need some of that network effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, check the Overwatch Foundation website at www.overwatch.org\/<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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