Revolutionizing School Safety: New Cybersecurity Strategy for K-12 Education

At a glance

Ohio rolls out TechGuard for its schools

Student records, staff files and thin IT budgets make schools easy marks for ransomware and phishing crews. On May 2, 2025, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a statewide answer: TechGuard, an online platform that trains school staff to spot attacks and tests them with simulated ones.

Who is behind the program

Four groups are involved. CyberOhio, the state’s cybersecurity coordination office, worked with the Department of Education and Workforce and the Management Council of the Ohio Education Computer Network, which runs the rollout. Ohio’s 16 Information Technology Centers also get access.

“Protecting our schools and equipping our teachers with training to help them identify and report cyberattacks helps makes our schools safer and stronger,” DeWine said in the state’s announcement.

Practice phishing emails and real lessons

TechGuard is mainly about people. It sends staff fake phishing emails and other simulated attacks, then trains the ones who fall for them. The point is to catch the click before a real attacker gets it.

Districts also get reporting on who is completing the training, so administrators can see where the weak spots are and follow up.

What the platform includes

According to the Management Council, the platform has more than 1,300 learning modules that can be tailored by role, from coaches and food service staff to teachers and administrators. Assessments give feedback to both users and administrators. TechGuard is a training and testing tool; it does not replace a district’s firewalls or endpoint security.

Training reaches every school role

Training covers phishing attempts, email scams, malware and ransomware. It is open to all K-12 schools in Ohio, and administrators, educators and students can all take part.

“Through this statewide opportunity, we are providing Ohio’s schools with a critical tool to combat the threat of cyberattacks,” said DEW Director Stephen D. Dackin.

What other states can take from Ohio

Ohio’s approach is cheap and practical. Rather than asking every district to buy its own awareness program, the state is offering one platform through the ITCs that already support schools.

Other states will be watching. If phishing click rates in Ohio schools drop, a shared training platform could become the template elsewhere.

Frank Jones, CISSP

Frank Jones has loved computers from the age of 13. Frank got his hacking career started when he downloaded a war dialing program that he used to detect dial up modems in his hometown of Chicago. Frank Jones now works as a JAVA coder and cyber security researcher.