10/19/2017
State Auditor Nicole Galloway recently visited six schools in southern Missouri to commend officials on their efforts to be a Cyber Aware School. Each of the school districts have policies in place that require notification if a data breach occurs.
"State law does not require schools to notify parents if their children or family's personal information has been compromised in a data breach, and as a parent and as state auditor, I find that concerning," Auditor Galloway said. "I'm pleased to visit and congratulate these schools for taking a proactive approach to cyber awareness and voluntarily incorporating this critical step into their policies."
Auditor Galloway highlighted that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and visited Houston R-I, Mountain Grove R-III, Ava R-I, Dallas County R-I, Bolivar R-I and Morgan County R-II school districts. These visits are part of a statewide initiative by Auditor Galloway to encourage schools to adopt a policy that will increase safeguards for students whose information is compromised during a data breach.
Current state law does not require notification if student information is compromised in a cybersecurity incident. Auditor Galloway was part of a bipartisan effort to change the law and require parental notification in the case of a data breach during the previous legislative session. The bill is expected to be filed again during the 2018 legislative session.
Since taking office, Auditor Galloway has focused on efforts to keep Missourians' information secure by incorporating data security into the standard audit process and regularly making recommendations to counties, municipalities and courts on ways to better safeguard electronic records. She is also reviewing ways to better protect electronic data within state government.
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Since taking office Auditor Galloway has made cybersecurity a priority across all components of government. She was honored by the Center for Digital Education for her Cyber Aware School Audit program, which was designed to increase safeguards against unauthorized access to student records and information. Auditor Galloway has also incorporated data security into the standard audit process as part of an ongoing emphasis on data protection practices and keeping Missourians' information secure.
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