Apr 12, 2022

Expert: Cyber security at school district improving but still needs work

Posted Apr 12, 2022 11:01 AM

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board Monday approved a contract with Tree Top Security of Hays for cyber security services.

Owner Dallas Haselhorst was hired after the school district experienced a data breach in February.

RELATED STORY: Schools increasingly targets of cyber attacks

Haselhorst said the school district has been able to improve its cyber security, but it will never be 100 percent secure.

He said the district was able to relay information about the attack, provide some training and make some purchases toward making the district more secure.

"I commend the IT team at Hays High, the faculty, staff and students that have been dealing with it," Haselhorst said. "A lot of businesses and school districts shut down for a few weeks or more."

He said the cyber security attack was handled with little disruption to school activities.

Haselhorst says his business offers continuous security monitoring.

"You don't have to run faster than the bear," he said. "you just have to run faster than the other guy. That's true in cyber security too."

The district may only need to have tighter security than the next school district, he said.

"When they come knocking on our door, maybe they'll decide it's not worth it and move on to the next district," Haselhorst said.

Board member Curt Vajnar asked Haselhorst on a scale of 1 to 10 where did the district fell in terms of cyber security.

He said the district is a little better than the middle of the road, but the district could still do better.

He said the district administration needs to weigh the cost versus the benefit of implementing further cyber security measures.

"Multi-million and multi-billion businesses and the Department of Defense spend some serious coin on cyber security, and guess what? They get hacked," Haselhorst said.

He said how much an entity wants to spend depends on how much risk it is willing to take. A hospital or energy company may be willing to take less risk than a school district, he said.

Superintendent Ron Wilson said he wanted to let the board know the cyber security efforts will be ongoing and the district plans to purchase some additional cyber security software.

Haselhorst's contract was approved for $100 an hour for up to 400 hours.

Haselhorst has created free cyber security training and he said that is available to the school district.

Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent of business services, said the district in the future will include cyber security as part of its annual training.

The school board also approved a bid for $31,995 from Auto World for a 2021 Equinox to be used as a driver's education car. The car will be used for other purposes during the school year.