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Task force hears update on cybersecurity and SIS audit; scope expanded to utilities
Summary
Senator Anne Milner and education staff described a cybersecurity audit in progress covering public education and higher‑education information systems; audit scope was expanded to include utilities such as water and energy, and staff said findings will inform task‑force work on minimum standards
Senator Anne Milner, senate co‑chair of the School Security Task Force, and Utah State Board of Education officials updated members on an ongoing cybersecurity audit of education information systems and related infrastructure.
Milner said the audit is underway for both public education and higher education information systems and that the audit committee expanded the review to include water and energy utilities. “They are in the midst of that audit right now... the expansion of the audit just means it will take longer,” Milner said. The expansion was described as appropriate because utilities present significant risk that intersects with school cybersecurity.
Leah Voorhees, deputy superintendent of student achievement for the Utah State Board of Education, said USBE staff are preparing focus groups and gap analyses to contribute to the audit. “We are working with LEAs to create focus groups to just understand... the landscape of what is happening right now in our education systems with cyber security,” Voorhees said.
Task‑force members framed the audit as necessary to identify gaps and corrective actions before setting minimum standards or investing in large system upgrades. Members noted recent incidents, including a PowerSchool breach discussed in prior meetings, as a reason to move cautiously and to coordinate any future regulatory or funding responses with the audit’s findings. Senator Milner and task‑force members will return with recommendations from the audit and with proposals for minimum standards in the months ahead.
