Protecting E-Rate Funds: The Abnormal Solution

E-Rate, an FCC program, makes telecommunications more affordable for schools and libraries, expanding Wi-Fi access to enhance digital learning for K-12 students. However, increased connectivity also heightens cybersecurity risks.

To combat these threats, the FCC launched the Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program, offering up to $200 million in funding over three years. Eligible institutions receive support for cybersecurity services, including training on competitive bidding, funding applications, and reimbursement processes, to help safeguard their networks and sensitive data.

Cyberattacks on K-12 districts are increasing, particularly as criminals target public schools for their perceived weaker defenses and their access to steady government funding.

By exploiting new technologies like generative AI, threat actors can carry out advanced attacks faster and more efficiently than ever before. Socially-engineered threats exploit human vulnerabilities, bypassing traditional security and disrupting essential education services.

To combat increasingly sophisticated attacks, schools must adopt a proactive and multifaceted cybersecurity approach, leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect and mitigate potential risks in real time.

Abnormal Security’s AI-driven approach to email security is the ideal solution for protecting E-Rate funded organizations. By leveraging machine learning, Abnormal can detect and block sophisticated phishing attempts and other email-based threats that traditional security solutions often miss.

This proactive defense not only safeguards the personal information of students and staff but also helps maintain compliance with federal regulations—ensuring that schools and libraries remain eligible for E-Rate funding.

As a cloud-native, API-based email security platform, Abnormal offers specialized protection for E-Rate funded schools by leveraging advanced behavioral data science to thwart new and sophisticated attacks that traditional security tools miss. Unlike legacy systems that rely on static rules, Abnormal uses a dynamic approach to accurately detect and automatically neutralize email threats.

Integrating seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, Abnormal quickly implements its security measures, analyzing thousands of signals from identity, behavior, and content to distinguish between legitimate and malicious messages. By identifying anomalies even within ongoing conversations, Abnormal ensures that E-Rate funded schools can safeguard their faculty, staff, and students from advanced threats that conventional systems fail to detect.

Discover how Abnormal protects E-Rate funds.