Cybersecurity

Single Hero Image interior pages

hands typing on a laptop with floating security emblems in the air — Keeping students and staff safe online

Add an extra layer of protection to your existing technology services. Whether you need a comprehensive cybersecurity program or training for employees and students, we have you covered. The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) offers trained and certified experts with experience in safe internet practices and secure installation of systems and networks.

How We Can Help

Vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, and remediation services to help detect, identify, and analyze current network, server, and / or endpoint vulnerabilities and threats
Cybersecurity framework implementation
Setup and configuration guidance for firewalls, secure networks, and domain management
Security policy review and recommendations (board policies, administrative regulations, internal guidelines, etc.)
Post-incident Services: Cyber incident response and digital forensics

Get in Touch

Email: securinginfo@sdcoe.net
Phone: 858-298-2211
View the Cybersecurity brochure

Visit the SDCOE Secure Access Page

Events (Upcoming/Recorded)

3rd Annual Superintendents' Cybersecurity Summit

Tuesday, October 14, 2025
4:30 to 7 p.m.
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, University of San Diego

The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) invites superintendents, charter leaders, cabinet members, board members, and technology executives to attend the 3rd annual Superintendent Cybersecurity Summit.

This year’s theme, “Time Travel: Navigating the Past, Present, and Future of K-12 Cybersecurity”, will guide conversations on lessons learned, current realities, and forward-looking strategies to safeguard schools in a digital age.

The program features:

Opening remarks from Dr. Gloria E. Ciriza, Superintendent of San Diego County Office of Education
Panel Moderation by Dr. Leighangela Brady, Superintendent of National School District
Two expert panels with leaders from government, law enforcement, operations, instruction, student services, and workforce development
Opportunities to connect with peers and partners shaping cybersecurity in K-12

Note: This is an in-person event only. Sessions will not be recorded or live-streamed.

Speakers

Dr. Gloria E. Ciriza
Superintendent
San Diego County Office of Education

Joseph Oregon
Deputy Regional Director of Region 9
Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS/CISA)

Dr. Leighangela Brady
Superintendent
National School District

Terry Loftus
Assistant Superintendent & Chief Information Officer
San Diego County Office of Education

Ben Meyer
Supervisory Special Agent
FBI

DeWayne Cossey
Executive Director, Technology Services
National School District

Joseph Clevenger
Assistant Superintendent Student Services and Programs
San Diego County Office of Education

Leonard LeVine
Executive Director, Cybersecurity & Digital Privacy
San Diego County Office of Education

Jennifer Oliveira
Director, Technology
South Bay Union School District

Carlos Salazar
Director, Security Operations Center
San Diego County Office of Education

Tyler Rudolph
Director, Technology
San Diego Unified School District

Stephanie Casperson
Executive Director, Technology
San Marcos Unified School District

Ricardo Lopez
Computer Support Technician
San Diego County Office of Education

Danny Pasawongse
Executive Director, Technology Infrastructure & Operations
San Diego County Office of Education

2023 National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security

2023 Red Herring Conference

Red Herring Conference
May 4 - 5, 2023

As an IT professional in K-12 education, the importance of your role has become increasingly evident in today's digital landscape, where cyberattacks and data breaches are a common occurrence. To stay ahead of these threats, join us at the 2023 Red Herring Conference, where you will have the opportunity to participate in interactive training, hands-on labs, and learn best practices to reduce the threat of cyber incidents.

You will also have the chance to gain valuable insights from the SDCOE Cybersecurity team and other K-12 local educational agencies as they share experiences, and real-world use cases and solutions. Additionally, you will learn about anti-phishing playbooks that can help your organization take a people-centric, behavior-based approach to incident prevention and reduction.

Join us May 4 and 5 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to take an active role in protecting your school district, charter school, or county office from cyber incidents.

Registration Instructions

Registration Instructions

Create a Sched account
(if you don't already have one)
Sign up for a free account with your email here: https://redherring2023.sched.com/signup

Register for the Conference
Use the link in step one to complete the registration form, then click on Register Now.

Pick your preferred sessions!
For each time slot, click the desired session so a checkbox appears. In addition to all-attendee sessions you can select Padawan (beginner) or Jedi Council (experienced RH user) sessions. Or mix and match!

Complete your Profile (this is the Way)
Click Edit Profile and complete. We recommend that you enable "Make my profile & schedule public" to network with others. Click Save Settings. If desired, upload a photo (we won't share it with the empire)

DONE!

View Recorded sessions

Speakers

SSA Nick Arico
National Security Cyber Supervisory Special Agent

FBI

Brad Bookser
Director of Information Technology

Sage Oak Charter Schools

Kip Boyle
Founder/Chief Information Security Officer

Cyber Risk Opportunities

Jennifer Cohen
Director of Cyber & Governance

Hub International

Ivan Constantino
Web Developer/Programmer

SDCOE

Claudia Cruz
Information Technology Systems Administrator

Los Gatos Union School District

Adam Doty
Director of Data Processing & Network Services

Riverside County Office of Education

Dr. Francisco Escobedo, Ed.D.
Board Member

State Board of Education (SBE)

Stuart LeBlanc
Cybersecurity Architect

SDCOE

Amy Liang
Director of Technology, Assessment, and Accountability

Los Gatos Union School District

Burt Lo
Chief Technology Officer

Stanislaus County Office of Education

Terry Loftus
Chief Information Officer/Assistant Superintendent

SDCOE

Travis McElvany
Executive Vice President/Risk Manager/Global Broker

Hub International

Danny Pasawongse
Executive Director of Technology Infrastructure and Operations

SDCOE

Casey Powers
Assistant Vice President, Cyber and E&O

Chubb Insurance

Uyen Quach
Senior Manager, Integrated Apps & Systems

SDCOE

Carlos Salazar
Director of Technology and Innovation

King-Chavez Neighborhood of Schools

Haison Tran
Application Architect

SDCOE

Brandon Schut
Career & Educational Technology Coach

Stanislaus County Office of Education

Vong Sopha
Cybersecurity Analyst

SDCOE

Francisco Tamayo
Senior Director of Cybersecurity & Digital Privacy

SDCOE

Ruben Sandoval
Cybersecurity Analyst

SDCOE

2022 MFA Conference

Conference banner with illustration of person's silhouette against an orange landscape with words enable MFA this is the way

MFA Conference
Oct. 27 - 28, 2022

San Diego County school districts and charter schools are facing cyberattacks of increasing frequency and complexity. One of the most powerful actions an organization can do to defend their data is to research, implement, and maintain multi-factor authentication (MFA). As stewards of vast amounts of sensitive student, staff and community data, the implementation of MFA will advance our collective efforts around data security and privacy.

The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), in collaboration with Nth Generation, hosted a two-day conference Oct. 27 and 28, 2022, to engage with all participating districts and to help them in advancing MFA implementation. As you all may know, cybersecurity insurance companies are making MFA a requirement for next year and now is the time to enable MFA.

All registered participants received a swag bag with a workbook, which includes a project charter, project execution plan, communication plan, and more.

Download workbook

Implementing MFA satisfies many of the requirements for the following Center for Internet Security controls:

5.2 - Use Unique Passwords
6.3 - Require MFA for Externally Exposed Applications
6.4 - Require MFA for Remote Network Access
6.5 - Require MFA for Administrative Access
14.3 - Train Workforce Members on Authentication Best Practices

More to Explore

Available Products and Services

Awareness

Monthly Themed Flyers and Articles

Easy-to-read, eye-catching flyers and articles that can be used each month to communicate tips about security and privacy.

Live Presentation and Demo: Data Security

A one-hour presentation which includes a real-time hacking that provides not only a powerful message on the importance of security, but does so by leveraging quick tips and interactive participation between presenters and the audience.

Live Presentation: Data Privacy

A 1.5 hour presentation on the latest (student) data privacy risks and protective measures that can be taken in an ever evolving data-driven world.

Live Presentation: Social Media Safety

A one-hour presentation which provides an overview of the risks related to the use of social media and how both children and adults can take steps to protect themselves while using the latest applications.

Procedures

General and Technical

Leverage these procedure templates as a starting point towards security / privacy compliance and best practices in your school or district.

General Audience Procedures

Antivirus
Bring your own device
Clean desk
End user phishing
FERPA compliance
ID and secure personally identifiable information (PII)
Minimum access
Mobile device
Passwords
Removable media
Social engineering
Social networking
Software installation (with and without) admin rights
Travel security
Wireless infrastructure
Workstation security

Technical Audience Procedures

Acceptable use of technology
Acceptable encryption
PCI-DSS
Protection of computerized PII
Wireless infrastructure
Email use
Virtual server security

Training

Train-the-Trainer Program: Data Security, Hacking Demo, Data Privacy, and Social Media Safety

Cybersecurity awareness programs are a proven method to stop the threat of cyberattacks. This program provides the materials, subject matter experts, and initial hands-on preparation which enables districts to implement and maintain their own cybersecurity awareness programs.

SDCOE's CoSN Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Cohort Program

The TLE Seal Program is the only all-encompassing program addressing school system student data privacy and security. It provides system leaders the guidance needed to put effective privacy practices in place, and signal that they are taking measurable steps to assure the protection of student information.

Vulnerability Assessment

Interview-Based Assessments

Cloud services
Baseline hardening: Server and client side
Patch management
Security policies
Viruses and worms

Onsite Assessments

Penetration testing
Physical security of the data center / work environment
Unsafe software apps
Vulnerability scanning

Red Herring Phishing Awareness Program

Red Herring is a system that sends simulated phishing emails and tracks the actions taken by the targeted users. It was developed by the San Diego County Office of Education in order to promote cybersecurity awareness amongst their users. It also enabled the County Office to identify users who were in need of additional cybersecurity awareness training on ways to identify phishing messages.

Red Herring Features

A full-featured phishing training and analytics platform.
Easy to use: With minimal training, a phishing campaign can be created using the existing library of templates.
Customizable: Users can create their own custom email and landing page templates.
Synchronize users from Azure, Active Directory and Google G-suite.
Fully supported by the SDCOE CyberSecurity team.
Created for K-12, by K-12 professionals.

Phishing Awareness Videos

Documents

Support

Red Herring Block List

Visit the
Red Herring Site

Cybersecurity and JPA

Cyber liability insurance protects school districts in the event of cyberattacks or data breaches. The insurance covers the costs schools could face in the wake of ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity dilemmas.

Visit the JPA page

main contact

Julie Nester
Sr. Manager, Prop & Liab Prgm
JPA Funds
Linda Vista Campus
julie.nester@sdcoe.net
858-295-6956

Resource Library

Student/Teacher Resources

External Links

Center for Internet Security (CIS)
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Cybersecurity for K-12 Education (CISA)
K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX)
National Cybersecurity Alliance (staysafeonline.org)
Online Toolkit: Partnering to Safeguard K-12 Organizations from Cybersecurity Threats (CISA)
Privacy Technical Assistance Center (U.S. Department of Education)