2025 Cybersecurity Predictions for K-20 Education
"Institutions must also contend with the uncertainty surrounding new technologies. The emerging tech regulation and policy landscape is still undefined, which introduces additional risk into investment decision-making. New or unproven technologies carry inherent uncertainties. To serve students and advance high-value research, institutions must carefully weigh the risks of investing in these technologies in an unclear policy environment."
— Eric Wheeler, senior director, product management, Strata Decision Technology
Compliance and policy challenges will require transparent data and communication practices.
"Growing regulatory requirements will impose stricter standards for how student data should be collected, stored, and shared in 2025. But given higher education institutions (HEIs) manage data from multiple sources — like student portals, third-party applications, and learning management systems — ensuring compliance can be challenging. This complex ecosystem increases the risk of data breaches, which can lead to heavy fines and reputational damage for HEIs —requiring them to implement consent and data preference management systems that centralize control and provide clear opt-in/out options for students.
"Transparent data practices will also serve as a competitive advantage this year. HEIs should focus on making privacy policies accessible and clear, demonstrating a commitment to ethical data usage and student rights."
— Nicky Watson, founder and chief architect, Syrenis
"As K-12 schools increasingly rely on digital tools and cloud-based platforms, districts across the United States are implementing stringent data protection measures to safeguard student information. The landscape of student privacy regulations continues evolving at state and federal levels, highlighting how schools are responding to growing concerns about data collection, storage, and sharing practices. In 2025, schools will move beyond collecting data to truly making it actionable. Instead of drowning in spreadsheets, educators will leverage predictive analytics to identify students needing support before they fall behind. The most successful districts will be those that can translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for both teachers and families."
— Joy Smithson, data science manager, SchoolStatus
"Data security and privacy, accessibility and ROI will be primary areas of focus for higher ed technology in 2025. The increasing digital transformation across campuses that affords students, faculty and administrators access to streamlined and integrated resources requires a tight security posture and a commitment to accessibility, especially as more states adopt regulations on both fronts. And with the enrollment cliff teetering, ed tech providers will be required to justify and show what efficiencies and savings their solutions can deliver. The new administration is top of mind for international education professionals, and technology will be critical to enabling institutions to quickly adapt to immigration policy changes affecting international students, to communicate changes to students, and to empower a more entrepreneurial approach to targeted international recruiting and creative program development."
— Travis Ulrich, senior vice president of enterprise solutions, Terra Dotta
Protecting digital identities will bring a renewed focus on privacy.
"Protecting students' digital identities will be a growing K-12 cybersecurity challenge in 2025 and beyond. While districts have traditionally focused on safeguarding schools from ransomware attacks, we're seeing a concerning shift toward targeted attacks on individual student accounts. The stakes are particularly high considering the personal information these accounts contain that could impact students well into their futures. Most concerning, perhaps, is the stark security gap between student accounts and those of teachers and staff — with student credentials often protected by only basic password requirements. Districts will need to evolve their identity management strategies to include stronger authentication methods for all users, not just employees, requiring a fundamental shift in how we think about student data protection and moving beyond compliance-focused security to treating student digital identities with the same level of protection we afford other privileged information."
— Trish Sparks, CEO, Clever