AWS Public Sector Blog

AWS launches $20 million K12 cyber grant program, joins White House to address cybersecurity for K12 education

Editor’s Note: The application deadline for the K12 Cyber Grant Program was recently extended through Jan. 31, 2024.

Education institutions are increasingly using the cloud to transform the security, effectiveness, and efficiency of technology solutions for schools across the world. More than 14,000 education institutions and 1,600 US education technology companies (EdTechs) are leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS) and our partners to build secure and engaging learning environments. We are on a mission to accelerate the digital transformation of education and secure academic environments through cloud computing technology.

Today, AWS joins the White House, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, and other leaders in government, industry, and the education community to improve the cybersecurity resilience of K12 education communities. K12 education is among the sectors identified as “target-rich, resource-poor” by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). AWS has been architected to be the most flexible and secure cloud computing environment available today and our cloud infrastructure is secure by design and secure by default. Our infrastructure and services meet the high bar that the US Government and other customers set for security.

We are honored to be part of the White House’s “Back to School Safely” event, hosted by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, to help education communities better prepare for cybersecurity risks, build cyber resilience, and access solutions to improve defenses. As part of our support, AWS is bolstering our longstanding collaboration with K12 education communities, state departments of education, teaching and learning companies, and EdTechs through the following commitments:

  • To help schools implement cloud-based cybersecurity solutions, we will commit $20 million for a K12 Cyber Grant Program available to all K12 school districts and state departments of education. We will commit to upskilling and reskilling K12 IT staff through no cost AWS security training offerings delivered through the AWS Skill Builder, a digital learning center. AWS Skill Builder has more than 600 no-cost courses, including more than 40 security-focused courses.
  • We will offer no-cost cyber incident response assistance through our Customer Incident Response Team to provide support to K12 school districts in the event a school experiences a cyberattack.
  • We will provide no-cost Well-Architected Framework security reviews to all EdTechs providing mission-critical applications to the K12 community.

Through this expanded support, AWS reiterates our deep commitment to supporting K12 education communities at every point in their cybersecurity journeys, whether they are laying their cybersecurity foundations, facing a cyber issue, or rebuilding from a cyber event. This includes working with EdTechs to help institutions securely manage systems with large amounts of potentially sensitive data such as student information, grades, online learning, financial aid, emergency planning, enrollment, and more.

Amazon is also committed to helping more organizations build a security-first mindset, and helping more people protect themselves online. For example, we offer Cybersecurity Awareness Training at no cost to individuals and organizations worldwide. Additionally, Amazon and the National Cybersecurity Alliance launched a cybersecurity awareness campaign, Protect & Connect, to empower people with the knowledge and tools to operate safely online. Amazon is also investing hundreds of millions of dollars to provide no cost cloud computing skills training to 29 million people around the world, including in areas such as cybersecurity, and we’re working with leaders in government to develop the cybersecurity workforce.

AWS is proud to work with education communities to improve their cyber resilience as they return back to school, throughout the academic year, and into the future. Learn more about our commitment to help the K12 community address cybersecurity challenges and how to apply for the K12 Cyber Grant Program.

Read more about AWS for K12 education:

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