NCDPI K-12 Cybersecurity Webinar Series
The NCDPI K-12 Cybersecurity Webinar Series was created to provide monthly webinars of specialized content to PSUs across the state. Each month will focus on a different topic, which will be led by various subject matter experts.
Our expert presenters will guide you through a variety of topics related to cybersecurity, including cybersecurity awareness, best practices for password management, understanding common threats and attacks, and strategies for ensuring data privacy. Whether you’re an IT professional or a concerned parent, our webinars will provide you with the tools you need to keep yourself and your community secure.
By attending our Cybersecurity Webinar Series, you’ll learn how to:
- Protect your PSU’s network from cyber attacks
- Train staff and students to identify potential threats
- Maintain data privacy and comply with regulations
- Stay up-to-date on the latest cybersecurity trends and best practices
2024-2025 School Year Webinar Schedule
Schedule (Click to Expand)
| Date | Topic & Description | Webinar Resources |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 29, 2025 10am | Data Privacy: Balancing Safety and Innovation Join NCDPI to explore the latest data privacy trends and their implications for educational technology, focusing on practical strategies to protect student and staff data while ensuring compliance with regulations like FERPA and PPRA. This session will equip district technology directors with actionable insights and tools to build a culture of privacy awareness and resilience in their PSU. | Register Here |
| Dec 11, 2024 10am | NCLGISA Strike Team Multifactor session theft Join Cory Rankin from the NCLGISA strike team as he steps through the complexities of MFA Phishing. Specifically, Cory will go over what it is, how it works, and how you can protect yourself. | Webinar Recording Slides |
| Nov 14, 2024 10am | Cybersecurity 101: Securing Your Digital Environment This webinar is designed to identify and explore the essential steps of developing a foundational cybersecurity program based upon CIS version 8.1. | Webinar Recording Slides |
| Oct 16, 2024 10am | Network Intrusion Analysis with Wireshark (Workshop) Dive into a hands-on workshop designed to empower K-12 organizations with practical skills in cybersecurity. In this session, you’ll use Wireshark to detect and analyze various tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) from an attack capture file that has previously been used in a real attack. Workshop participants will also learn to identify and extract the malicious payload from the packet capture and perform a brief analysis of the malware found. This interactive workshop will provide you with the knowledge and experience to perform network intrusion analysis and strengthen your cybersecurity posture, ensuring better protection against potential breaches. | Slides Recording Not Available |
| Sept 4, 2024 10am | Enhancing K-12 Cybersecurity with THC-Hydra for Dictionary Attacks (Hands-On Workshop) Dive into a hands-on workshop designed to empower K-12 organizations with practical skills in cybersecurity. In this session, you’ll use the THC-Hydra tool to perform online dictionary attacks and understand how these tests can uncover login credentials in your systems. Learn to configure and execute THC-Hydra in a controlled environment to identify weak passwords and enhance your PSU’s security defenses. This interactive workshop will provide you with the knowledge and experience to proactively test and strengthen your cybersecurity posture, ensuring better protection against potential breaches. | Slides Recording Not Available |
| August 14, 2024 1pm | Google Firewall VPN with Palo Alto Join MCNC as they demonstrate the capabilities of Palo Alto Global Protect and Google/365 SAML with 2FA for VPN. They will highlight the VPN attack landscape, examine VPN attack traffic in NC K12 firewalls, and discuss how to improve security posture by implementing VPN with use of Google and/or cloud 365 with 2FA. | Webinar Recording Slides |
| July 10, 2024 1pm | Unveiling the Power of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) In this webinar, we will explore the fascinating world of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and its relevance in the K-12 education landscape. This session will focus on what OSINT is, its significance in the digital age, the types of information that can be obtained through OSINT, and demonstrate some real-world examples showcasing how OSINT can be applied in educational settings. | Webinar Recording Slides |
2023-2024 School Year Webinar Schedule
Schedule (Click to Expand)
| Date | Topic & Description | Webinar Resources |
|---|---|---|
| June 12, 2024 1pm | Email Security – SPF, DKIM and DMARC Tired of your email domain being Spoofed! In this month’s Security Webinar we’ll be discussing how to cut down your spoofed emails with accurate and functioning SPF/DKIM/DMARC records. All the tools needed in order to effectively say who email is from. In a collaboration with MCNC and DPI we will look at some inaccurate records and make recommendations on how to better serve email domains to tighten up Security. | Webinar Recording Slides |
| May 29, 2024 1pm | EOY Management and Planning for your KnowBe4 Console Join Amir Lawrence from the Friday Institute as he goes over a series of best practices and techniques for preparing your KnowBe4 Console for the next school year | Webinar Recording Slides |
| Apr 10, 2024 1pm | Crowdstrike Threat Update Hear from CrowdStrike’s Threat Intelligence experts as they share important lessons and recommendations K-12 Security and IT teams need to know in 2024 | Available upon request. |
| Mar 27, 2024, 1pm | MCNC Managed Firewall Service – Panorama Training Join MCNC’s Security Team as they provide Panorama training for PSUs utilizing MCNC’s Managed Firewall service. | Webinar Recording Slides |
| Feb 20, 2024, 1pm | MCNC Attack Surface Monitoring Join MCNC’s Security Team as they provide an overview of their new service, Attack Surface Monitoring (formerly EdgeGuard) | Webinar Recording Slides |
| Jan 17, 2024, 10am | Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) is a framework used in cybersecurity to standardize the way security-related information is expressed and exchanged. It was developed to help organizations automate the assessment, monitoring, and reporting of security configurations and vulnerabilities in computer systems. SCAP-enabled tools and systems use these standardized components to automate security tasks such as vulnerability scanning, configuration assessment, and compliance monitoring. By implementing SCAP, organizations can enhance their cybersecurity posture by identifying and mitigating security risks more effectively and efficiently. This session out outlined the key components of SCAP including Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE), Common Configuration Enumeration (CCE), Common Platform Enumeration (CPE), and Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). | Webinar Recording Slides |
| Dec 13, 2023, 10am | Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) The foundations of cybersecurity are built on preserving the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organizational assets. Organizations have a vast amount of assets they must track, monitor, and protect. Any asset can act as a potential entry point for unauthorized individuals seeking to breach the system, either to extract data or initiate other cyber attacks. Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) is a technological approach specifically aimed at providing a unified view of digital assets for key stakeholders across an organization through API integrations combined with active and passive scanning. Leveraging CAASM tools can help PSUs identify outdated software and misconfigurations, enabling continuous monitoring, vulnerability analysis, targeted threat mitigation, and improved cyber resilience. This webinar will outline the general principles of CAASM and showcase how the NCDPI and its partners have deployed CAASM solutions as part of the overall K-12 Cybersecurity Program to protect educational assets across North Carolina. | Webinar Recording Slides |
| Nov 14, 2023, 9am | MCNC Firewall Service Update MCNC’s Security Team will provide a brief service overview of their Managed Firewall service available at no cost to all PSUs. This overview will include highlighting a few new features that are available now or coming soon. In addition, the team will take a deep dive into the upcoming firewall hardening exercise to be completed by all PSUs currently enrolled in the service in the coming months. The goal for the firewall hardening exercise is to optimize the firewall policy so PSUs can receive the most benefit from the PaloAlto NextGen Firewall capabilities and have an improved overall security posture. Join us to learn about how to get on the schedule to complete this valuable and mandatory exercise. | Webinar Recording |
| Oct 18, 2023, 3pm | KnowBe4 – It’s Personal: Developing Good Cybersecurity Hygiene to Stay Safe Online Join KnowBe4 in a discussion around best practices for staying safe online, maintaining strong passwords, email red flags to be aware of, and how to encourage faculty, staff, and students to do the same. | Available upon request |