Center for Digital Education Briefing | Cares Act Funding: Cybersecurity for Education

The COVID pandemic has upended higher education across the country. Some colleges and universities have resumed
in-person classes, while others have kept students at home and are conducting all classes via remote learning platforms. Still others have welcomed students back to campus housing but have kept classrooms closed, so students are engaged in distance learning from their dorm rooms.

The situation, which continues to evolve almost daily with changing threats of the pandemic, poses a significant cybersecurity challenge. These institutions must now secure a vastly expanded and ever-shifting environment. And unlike most K-12 schools, colleges and universities must safeguard
a treasure trove of sensitive personal data related to students, campus residents, faculty, administration, financial information and campus infrastructure.

Higher education institutions have leveraged federal aid to help tackle these security issues. In March 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill intended to jumpstart the economy. State and local governments received more than $150 billion of this money to help respond to greater demand for public services.

In December, Congress passed another stimulus bill. Though this bill didn’t provide additional funding specifically for state
and local governments, it did extend the deadline for recipients to use their original CARES Act funding. This extension is critical because our research indicates state, local and county governments still have billions of dollars left to spend.

Over the past year, the Center for Digital Education has tracked several CARES Act federal funding streams, including the Coronavirus Relief Fund, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund.

Our research indicates governments and education institutions have applied federal funding — particularly from the Coronavirus Relief Fund and Education Stabilization Fund — to address several cybersecurity challenges in higher education institutions. However, with a substantial amount of money remaining, funding recipients may need more guidance for how they can effectively use federal aid to address the security challenges associated with distance learning and to combat cybersecurity threats going forward.

This brief provides an overview of remaining federal funding streams, details how higher education institution