Education officials warn of rising student data risks from AI and digital platforms

Education officials and cybersecurity experts are warning of increased risks to student data privacy as schools increasingly adopt digital systems and artificial intelligence.

Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman urged school leaders to take active responsibility for protecting sensitive information, such as attendance records and academic performance. Speaking at a conference in Barbados, Blackman emphasized that modernizing the education system requires rigorous security measures that go beyond mere administrative compliance with the Data Protection Act and the Child Protection Act.

Cybersecurity expert Sarthak Dubey highlighted that vulnerabilities often exist within the web of third-party services used by EdTech platforms, including payment gateways and cloud providers. Dubey warned that generative AI could exacerbate these risks, allowing criminals to use stolen personal details, such as names and photographs, to create convincing scams. This includes the potential for voice cloning to impersonate students in distress to defraud parents.