Indiana K‑12 schools face surge in cyberattacks, prompting stronger data‑security measures

Indiana K‑12 school districts are experiencing a marked increase in cyber incidents. State records show 27 reported attacks in 2024, 69 in 2025 and 40 so far in 2026. The breaches include ransomware, business‑email compromise and exploitation of software vulnerabilities, and affect platforms such as Canvas and PowerSchool. Indiana’s 2021 law requires schools and local agencies to report cybersecurity incidents to the state Office of Information Technology within 48 hours.

School districts are paying tens of thousands of dollars for recovery and system upgrades—for example, Baugo Schools spent $10,000 on a new firewall and Logansport Schools contracts a $30,000‑per‑year monitoring service. Experts stress basic cyber hygiene, unique passwords and two‑factor authentication, as well as proactive monitoring of cloud services like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 to detect suspicious activity and mis‑configured sharing settings.

Guidance for districts emphasizes continuous cloud‑activity monitoring, early detection of threats, and clear security policies to protect student records, health information and staff credentials from unauthorized access, identity theft and potential legal penalties.