Applications for schools are now open globally. Grants valued at $500,000 each ($5 million in total) will be awarded to six school districts in the US with an additional four around the world. Volunteers through IBM Service Corps will use their professional skills to help schools establish programs to address cybersecurity resiliency.
Each selected school will receive:
- incident response plans and ransomware playbooks,
- programs to help address the need for updating operating systems,
- strategic communication plans to use in response to cyber incidents, and
- training and digital credentials through IBM SkillsBuild on topics including AI and cybersecurity, and additional benefits such as enhanced access to IBM mentors, teacher training and toolkits, and customized learning pathways.
“The global skills gap across cybersecurity and AI is a growing challenge that demands immediate attention,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM Chief Impact Officer. “To address this challenge, IBM awards Education Security Grants to drive impact with schools worldwide. This year we’re excited to expand the program to bring the benefits of IBM SkillsBuild training on topics like AI and cybersecurity for students and teachers.”
Since its inception in 2021, IBM has received hundreds of applications for this award-winning program from school districts seeking to strengthen their security postures in response to the growing threats in the education space. Past recipients of the IBM Education Security Preparedness Grants, a list of which can be found here, have encouraged other schools to apply.
“With IBM’s assistance, we improved our cybersecurity incident response plan and used it to better prepare us for handling incidents in the future,” said Robert Losinski, Manager of Information Security at Denver Public Schools. “Attackers are targeting schools because many do not have mature security frameworks to effectively defend against ransomware and other cybercrime. Getting professional assistance in expanding your cyber security program will really help you identify the most critical areas to protect.”
K-12 public schools and educational institutions/organizations that are interested in applying for IBM’s education cybersecurity grant can apply via IBM.com here: https://www.ibm.com/impact/initiatives/security. The application deadline is June 23, 2023.
For more information about IBM’s cybersecurity grants for schools visit: https://www.ibm.com/impact/initiatives/security. For more information about IBM Security X-Force’s services and capabilities visit: https://www.ibm.com/security/xforce
This press release originally appeared online.
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