Five Key Takeaways from our latest webinar: Cybersafety in Ed: You’ve Got This
We’ve pulled the highlights out for you
In our recent webinar looking at cybersafety in the education sector, we heard from David Fuller, Director of Operations at The MILL Academy, alongside Martin Lethbridge, Principal Sales Engineer from WatchGuard Technologies. The conversation focused on the realities of managing IT in education and the practical steps schools can take to strengthen their cyber resilience.
Here are our five key takeaways from the webinar:
1. Cybersecurity is fundamental to school operations
One of the clearest messages from the session was that cybersecurity is no longer a background task. It underpins the ability of a school to function.
Schools present a large attack surface to potential hackers, handling sensitive content - from pupil records and mobile phones to staff payroll, parent contact details and safeguarding data. Added to this, is the day-to-day requirement to deliver the school curriculum via onsite technology and learning resources hosted in the cloud.
David highlighted that protecting this information is not just about compliance, but about maintaining trust and ensuring continuity of education:
“If you don't have that fundamental link between IT - what you are delivering and what the teachers need - you're setting yourself up for failure because fundamentally, whatever you do, what you deliver has got to meet the needs of the teachers and, more importantly, it's got to enable the Academy to deliver good lessons for the students.”
When systems are disrupted, the impact is felt across the whole trust.
2. Silence is not a good thing when it comes to running your cybersecurity technologies
David spoke openly about his expectations from the cybersecurity technology he has invested in:
“With cybersecurity and data protection, you’ve got to have faith in it that it’s doing the job. Part of that is knowing you’ve got a really good product sat there but equally part of it is monitoring it - and that’s your dashboards. Is it picking up intrusion detection? Is it functionally working, whether that’s your endpoint protection, your firewall or your KCSIE reports from your filtering? Silence is not a good thing. If you’re not seeing stuff on reports, then that raises the question, is it doing the job? So, I’m not saying we want alarms triggering all the time, but you want to see it working.”
So, although it sounds counter-intuitive, a ‘proof-of-concept’ approach is a wise route to follow as you manage your daily cybersecurity operation.
3. Threats are becoming more sophisticated
Martin outlined how cyber threats continue to evolve. Attackers are using increasingly advanced tools, including more convincing phishing techniques and automated scanning systems designed to identify vulnerabilities.
He emphasised that schools cannot rely on basic protections alone. Security needs to be layered, continuously monitored and regularly reviewed to keep pace with changing risks.
The key point was not to create fear, but to recognise that the threat landscape is dynamic and requires ongoing attention.
4. Visibility and monitoring make a significance difference
A recurring theme throughout the webinar was the importance of visibility across systems.
Martin explained that having clear oversight of network activity allows IT teams to identify unusual behaviour quickly. Early detection can significantly reduce the potential impact of an incident:
“Don't ever take for granted that things are running swimmingly. You have to look for what's normal on your network because the problem we have nowadays is that you will not spot something going on if you don't understand how your network normally behaves.”
Modern cybersecurity platforms can consolidate monitoring and reporting, giving teams a clearer picture of what is happening across their environment.
This approach simplifies management and reduces the likelihood of threats going unnoticed.
5. The right support can free up valuable time
Both speakers acknowledged that managing cybersecurity internally can be challenging for education organisations.
David noted that external expertise can provide reassurance and practical support, particularly where internal resources are limited.
By working with specialist partners, schools can benefit from continuous monitoring and up to date security knowledge, without placing additional strain on their own teams.
You want to look for a partner who is vendor-agnostic, that way you can be sure you are going to have a better choice of the most up to date cybersecurity tech and end up with the right fit for your needs and budget, regardless of who the tech vendor is or any preferred vendor relationship. It is also useful to know that your IT service partner can supply refurbished IT equipment, for greater sustainability, if that is also desired.
The outcome is not only stronger protection, but also more time for IT managers to focus on supporting staff, improving systems and planning future developments.
In conclusion…
The webinar reinforced that cybersecurity in education is not just about technology. It is about people, processes and partnerships working together.
With the right approach in place, schools can strengthen their defences while reducing pressure on internal teams. That balance is essential if IT is to continue enabling effective teaching and learning across the sector.
If you want to watch the webinar back, check it out by clicking the button below.
