Transcripts For CSPAN White 20240704

[applause] thank you. Hello, everyone and welcome to the white house. I know many of you travel to be a part of this moment and have taken time away from your family and necessary wear. So we are grateful to you for giving us a little more of that time this morning. Now that yesterdays storm has passed. Im telling you, it was so quiet here at the white house last night because they sent everybody home, there was no secret service. Service. Just kidding. [laughter] so i want to thank you, all of you, for being here. Our purpose today is powerful. I want to thank you for your commitment to this cause. As some of you probably know, probably everybody here knows it, i teach at a Community College not far from here. And right now, educators are in the final weeks of those, you know, where the teachers putting the finishing touches on their lesson plans. I know i am, i have my first article ready to go. The linoleum floors as you all walk into the school you know , they are just waxed. They never look like that again after the first day. [laughter] you know, the scuffs of sneakers, and there is a possibility, the hum of possibility in the air as the year seems to stretch out in front of us. You feel that excitement, if any of you were in the classroom, which i am sure most of you have been. You cant even sleep the night before, right, no matter how many years it has been. You still feel that excitement. It has been the new year is filled with Amazing Things to discover. With each new semester, Technology Becomes a new indispensable part of making sure that our students imaginations can soar. And ensuring that administrators can run their schools smoothly and safely. But in districts around the country, Cyber Attacks have brought those systems to a halt. And i know most of you have seen it. Social security numbers and medical records stolen and shared online. Classroom technology paralyzed. Lessons ended. So, if we want to safeguard our childrens futures, we must protect their personal data. That is why my husband, joe, is bringing together experts from across his administration to help strengthen cybersecurity for our elementary, middle and high schools. So today, not only do we have with us the secretary of education, the secretary of Homeland Security, and the chairwoman of the federal communications commission, we are joined by leaders from the National Security council, the office of the National Cyber director. The cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. And the fbi. That one was easy. [laughter] they will be announcing resources for districts like yours and sharing best practices to help stop those attacks before they begin and resolve them more quickly when they do. But we cant do this alone. And thats why we are working with businesses across the country. And later, they will be sharing the new commitments they are making to ensure the technology of our classrooms is reliable and more secure. I know, because i teach in a computer lab. So it is going to take all of us, local governments, state and federal agencies, educators, businesses, labor leaders and nonprofits sharing our good ideas, and Innovative Solutions to protect our students. So, i am grateful to all of you for being part of these discussions. You are on the frontline, supporting your communities. I want to ask you to keep going. Together, each day, we are building the foundation of our childrens future. And we must do all that we can to keep it sound and strong and ready for whatever life may bring. Because every student deserves the opportunity to see a School Counselor when they are struggling, and not worry that these conversations will be shared with the world. Every classroom should be enriched by new technologies, giving students who Love Computers the skills they need to succeed. And every family should know its information will stay safe and secure, so that our children can keep reaching for the Endless Possibilities that exist inside of each one of them. So, thank you. Thank you all for what youre are doing. Thanks. [applause] thank you. Dr. Biden now, it is my pleasure to introduce someone who is working tirelessly to support our children and their digital security. Secretary miguel cardona. My friend. [applause] secretary cardona good morning. How is everyone . Isnt it great to have a teacher in the white house . How about dr. Biden . [applause] thank you. Thank you for your leadership and for always understanding how important it is to make sure that our schools are safe for our students, for our educators, and championing it the way that you do. Thank you, everyone for being here. I know we had a bit of a carb ball curveball yesterday, and either you pac12 or you supported our local you packed well, or you supported our local stores and brought a different shirt for today. [applause] we are here to discuss a very important topic, Cyber Security in our schools. At the height of the pandemic, it wasnt boardgames that got my own children the socialization that they need, it wasnt even books or sports, because, you know, they werent able to get out on the field. For my son, at the time he was about 16 years old, it was his xbox. For those of you with teenagers, you may know where i am going with this. He was playing madden with his cousins online, socializing with his family members and his friends. That was his socialization he was getting. For my daughter who was about 14 at the time, it was an app called house party. Anyone familiar with that . That was her way of seeing her friends face. She was told two weeks later, youre going to be back in school. After the second month, it was really hard and scary. That is what she used to socialize with her friends. I mentioned this because it shows that technology can benefit our young people. At its best, technology can help our students connect with each other and their learning in the way that nothing else can. It also reminds us that we live in a digital age. As i always say, the device is the new pencil in our schools. Last school year, the average number of unique Educational Technology tools accessed per School District was over 2500. Keep in mind, those numbers dont even capture the social media asked students are using for the Digital Infrastructure systems schools rely on. , when school is cyberattack, the impacts are huge. Think of the Ransomware Attack that led to more than a hundred students 5000 students and Staff Members in chicago for the schools having their personal information stolen. Or the school my home state of connecticut that had to postpone the first day of school for 18,000 students because a cyberattack hit the system the district used for managed school bus routes. Lets be clear, we need to be taking the cyberattacks on schools as seriously as we do on physical infrastructure. That is why today the department of education released a series of briefs on how to strengthen the Digital Infrastructure of education. We need collaboration within government to make that possible, which is why we are also committing to establish a new, government coordinating council. Look, we can talk about intentional collaboration at the local level and at the state level if we are not modeling it here at the federal level and thats what we are going to be proactive. We need to get the best thinking from all over the country. Be proactive, not wait for emergencies to happen to make sure we have a plan. These represent big steps forward. Together, we can manage the risks of Cyber Attacks on our schools so we can better guarantee the benefits technology has to offer our children in education. I want to give a special thanks to christina ishmael, over here, and our office of Educational Technology for their leadership. [applause] the passion that she has not only on protecting students, but in intentional collaboration, is what we need. I appreciate your leadership and deputy secretary cindy martin also, your passion on this topic as a former superintendent of schools in san diego. You recognize how critical this is, and what an opportunity we have to lead our country in this space. Thank you for your leadership as well. [applause] and speaking of leadership and partners, i am really delighted to introduce our next speaker, my cabinet colleague, but really a friend. Someone that i have grown to know over the last two and a half years and really admire the passion with which he leads. Secretary mayorkas. Secretary. [applause] mayorkas act sec. Mayorkas good morning. Thank you secretary cardona, and dr. Biden, thank you for convening us. Let me say at the outset, i have always, always, love school. [laughter] except math. [laughter] all of us here today are acutely aware of how demanding it is to work in education. The challenges that students, teachers, parents, administrators, school board members, front office staff, techsupport support and outside vendors even, confront every day would have been unfathomable even five years ago. Cyber security threats are really the latest such challenge. I wish that were not the case. The education ecosystem, like Critical Care units in hospitals, should be sacrosanct, free from cyberattacks and other threats. Children deserve the ability to learn and grow in a secure setting, and you all deserve the ability to focus on what you do best, teaching, nurturing, caring for and inspiring our children. The reality, though, is that the Cyber Threats we face have expanded to every community and every institution across our country, including schools. That is why we at the department of Homeland Security alongside , our partners across the Biden Harris Administration are committed to providing communities and School Systems with the support and the resources necessary to protect themselves, their infrastructure, and their students. Earlier this year we released through cisa, our Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency and its extraordinary leader jennifer easterly is here, a free, first cybersecurity toolkit for k12 institutions compiling , Government Resources and offering guidance on how stakeholders can best implement them. We are also working closely with Technology Manufacturers to ensure that what they provide to School Systems is secure by design. Secure right outofthebox. And to paraphrase president biden, we are showing our values not only in our words and interactions, but in our budgets as well. Earlier today, we put out a new call for applications to our state and local Cyber Security grant program, which, for the second year in a row will make , hundreds of millions of dollars available to School Districts and governments to harden their cyber defenses we. We have many, many other means of support available to you from teams across our federal government and our colleagues will highlight many of them for you throughout this summit. I want to strongly urge every School System and every community to take advantage of these resources and to do so with urgency. Do not underestimate the ruthlessness of those who wish to do us harm. They have proven their willingness to steal and release such private student information as a psychiatric hospitalizations, home struggles, and suicide attempts. Do not wait until a crisis comes to start preparing for one. [applause] that applause was prompted [laughter] by our deputy National Security advisor, friend and colleague, anna newberger. [laughter] [applause] an ounce of prevention today is worth a pound of cure tomorrow, especially when an ounce of prevention enables you to spend more time on what really matters the education and wellbeing of our students. I joined first lady dr. Jill biden, secretary cardona, thank you for being here. Thank you for your commitment to our children, to our schools, and for building a better tomorrow. Our deputy National Security advisor anne, will kickoff the rest of the summit. Thank you so much. [applause] ms. Newburger good morning everyone. Thank you all for being here today with particularly because it is take two. Thank you all who stayed overnight to Work Together on this incredibly important topic for our children. By my count, we have an Incredible Group today. We have nearly 20 School Superintendents in this room from across the united states, from Talladega County schools, dr. Susanna lacey, to albuquerque public schools, mr. Robert elder. Thank you to all the School Superintendents who have traveled to be here today. We have teachers like ms. Kathleen bullock, secondgrade special ed teacher from brent Elementary Schools here in bc. And teachers associations like the National Association of secondary school principals. We have at least 15 cios and chief Information Security officers, folks who are on the frontlines on the topic of cyber. From cambridge, massachusetts, mr. John kramer and, to Fulton County in georgia, miss emily bell. There are Education Company ceos. From gross security, city bridge, and classlink. An founders, from google Tech Ventures and diverting hate, among others. And almost 200 other people gathered here today, committed to education, committed to school. Each of you deserve your own recognition for what you do for kids. Thank you for what you do for children every day. [applause] thank you truly for being here today to discuss an important issue that whether one is an administrator, a teacher, a parent, its close to each of our hearts. I would also like to take a moment to welcome close colleagues from the white house, the president s lead science advisor, and the acting National Cyber director. Our gathering today, and the quick reschedule putting us on dr. Bidens and the secretary calendars, represent the priority of keeping kids safe means a lot to the president and the entire administration, because today is about that commitment to ensure our kids go back to school safely. Criminals are targeting schools with cyberattacks. There were eight School Systems in the last school year alone that were disrupted. Four that actually had to close for a period of time because of cyberattacks. And as we heard, that is a part of it. Perhaps even more importantly, there is Sensitive Data of children, their psychiatric information, Sensitive Information that should be protected, released online. Data that hurts kids, hurts families, and potentially hurts their futures. So today is about changing that dynamic together. Keeping our students, our teachers and our schools safe from cyberattacks is about three things equipping schools with knowledge, funds, and people. The knowledge of how to prevent cyberattacks and respond quickly if they do occur. The finance to ensure that school tech can be upgraded and secure. And finally, the people, because we know that school i. T administrators are often short staffed. So expert teams to help them do , the work and secure their schools is key. Today you will hear significant commitments announced by both government and private sector in each of those categories knowledge, forms, and people, and you will hear about that in each of the panels. We will begin with a Panel Focused on learning from a ransomware incident against a school. We will move to an announcement of government commitments, then one on private sector commitments. Funds. Security, secure attack. And finally, we look forward to welcoming a group of School Leaders who inspired us by the innovation they brought to their schools after a significant Ransomware Attack. I would like to invite the first panel of speakers to join me on the stage. [applause] ms. Neuberger so i am pleased to introduce our first panel. About a year ago, on labor day weekend, the los angeles unified School District experienced a very significant Ransomware Attack. It disrupted the districts access to email and key systems and acquisitions they need to up. There schools. However, as you are about to hear, the swift action by the School District, closely supported by the federal government, insured los angeles schools opened on time, on september 5, a remarkable example of the power of leadership, preparation, and collaboration. I can share from my own experience over that labor day weekend, that the School Superintendent, alberto carv allos calls for support were met with quick action. The white house convened federal departments and agencies and the department of education became the focal point for leading that response. So, here to speak from the department of educations perspective, i invite deputy secretary cindy martin, a former School Superintendent herself and a passionate leader on education and focused on the health and safety of kids. Deputy secretary martin. Thank you so much for that introduction, and, more importantly, for your collaboration. You heard our secretary talk about intentional collaboration, thats what we believe at the department of education. Teamwork makes the dream work. I was a kindergarten teacher, so we always bring that in. But your collaboration and the way you help bring all of the folks together that we could galvanize for support. When we got that phone call at liberty we can from the superintendent, i knew he needed help now. I understand president bidens commitment to a wholeofgovernment approach, and our secretarys commitment to being a service agency, we went into quick action. It wasnt as deciding at the federal level, what we need to do for los angeles unified as if we had the answers, although we had critical information they needed. We needed to listen closely to our superintendent what he needed immediately on the ground so we could bring the support together in a synchronistic way that would get the outcomes that i knew he needed to get his schools open for the first day of school, which is most important because kindergartners only get their first day of congressional ones. We talked about what you needed and then we started collaborating. So i am yielding the rest of my time so you can hear from him on how he led impeccably, what happened. Although we wished it never happened, it did. We want to hear the lessons learned, because this is what we dreamed up back then when it was going on. Thank you very much and good morning, everyone. I want to think by number, thanking the vision, the collaboration, the courage and determination of this administration and its leaders. Dr. Biden, secretary mayorkas is my dear friend, secretary cardona, and my dear, dear friend, cindy martin. Two people who are called on that fateful weekend or actually understate first, cindy martin, second, anne neuberger. The level of collaboration that we benefited from from every agency as well as state and local government was unparalleled, and for this in the position of being able to resume regular schooling without disruption on the tuesday after labor day weekend. So, i would like to detail for you very quickly, three phases of what we went through. Number one, preevent preparation. Secondly, event Crisis Management in a strategic way. And third, postevent decisions and resiliencybuilding based on the learned experience. Prior to the event, i have to say that lausd probably had a set of assets, tools and systems in place, as well as professional development and human skill assets that were significantly above average. We had multifactor authentication on its way, we had protocols of training staff, on management and protection. But we had also began work with privatesector sector entities in ensuring that Data Exchange agreements were in place, ensuring that the protocols, prerequisites and elements of protection that we demanded were reflected in the vast majority of contracts with private sector entities that relied on Data Exchange with our School System. Ensuring that there were no unnecessary doors open. In addition to that, we had began the work of actually securing our systems in the event of this type of attack. But we what we hadnt done was what we were able to build during the event, which is actually developed a rolodex of influencers in solving the problem. So, the cause of the fbi, to cindy martin, to the department of education, deputy secretary martin, to the National Security council i remember a phone conversation with and newberger at the white house. The fact that the day later we had fbi and federal entities in our house comanaging the situation, was incredibly powerful. But let me speak briefly about one critical thing that we did, which was since we had individuals 24 7, monitoring the flow of data, we were able to detect an attempt at expo Trading Information our system detect an attempt of ex filtrating information out of our system. We were able to make the quicker decision to shut down all systems. 11 million gigabytes of information we possess, only 500 gigabytes were taken. Still significant. It could have been much worse. They were going after significant assets specific to payroll systems, personally identifiable Social Security numbers and student data. They were able to encrypt systems, they were able to exfiltrate very little of those systems because of our swift action. It was the unparalleled bringing down of governmental silos that often exist by having cisa, fbi, nsc, as well as local and state entities come together and work on the same state, that we were able to recover quickly. So here are my learnings and strong advice to the nation. Number one, have a backup plan that is independent from your Digital Assets and systems to restore Education System particularly attendance taking, transportation, food service critically important. Payroll. We were able to transition quickly because we had backup plans that we were able to activate very quickly. Secondly, have that rolodex ready to call on individuals who can help you manage a crisis, a situation that you yourself alone cannot manage, you do not have the tools or the intelligence. Federal agencies had and they delivered big time, very quickly. Thirdly, have an understanding with those agencies about elements that you should share , so when we shut down our systems we were able to create a , laboratory for federal agencies to be able to retrieve information, the nuggets of information that the bad actor had left behind. They were able to study it very quickly and report back to us. And informed the nation. The combination of those efforts proved powerful. Postincident, we were able to restore all of our systems. We were able to reopen schools without interruption. Feed kids and transport kids and take attendance. We recognized that the one entity we needed was not in place yet, so we moved quickly in achieving three things. Number one, stricter guidelines for interaction specific to Data Exchange. Secondly, the hiring of a cso, which we didnt have. I know there are many smaller, rural districts in america that dont have the resources to go out and hire a ciso. We rely on all larger districts or associations to share the cost of the type of talent. Do not go without one. Thirdly, critically important aggressive professional , development. The retooling and reskilling of our own workforce on the basis of what we learned more often than not, and that was our case, after an extensive audit and analysis of the incident, even redoubling our efforts in terms of exposing our own vulnerabilities through intensive periodic penetration tests to determine the resiliency of our systems, more often than not it is not necessarily the extreme expertise of the cyber terrorists that will gain access to your system. It is a backdoor that is left open. That was our case. So, we have learned from this experience and we also brought to the board something that is a strong recommendation alter through delegated authority the ability to procure while living up to government in sunshine public records laws contracts , with assets, tools and systems without necessarily, unwarrantedly, broadcasting to the broader community, including bad actors, how you are arming and protecting yourself. I close by, once again, thanking every agency represented here for the support they provided us, and in return, the information we were able to reciprocally provide to the nation, that i believe has resulted in a better level of preparation. I have never seen the level of collaboration that i have seen. The last thing, we did pen a letter to the nation, requesting Additional Support and additional flexibility in terms of funding cosigned by over 2 000 educational leaders across the country, originating from los angeles. I appreciate the fact, because this Government Read it, understood the crisis, and responded with resources, toolkits and support. Thank you very much. [applause] i think if anyone doubted that experience is the best teacher, even among a group of teachers, i think your words would that arrest. I would like to turn it over to the Deputy Director of the f the eye, who had a minor crisis behind him, Deputy Director of the fbi. Thank you, anne. Thank you for having us here today. I just want to reinforce everything the superintendent said. When we look at our number one goal in advance is to be preventative and to stop cyberattacks from occurring before they happen. That requires the ultimate collaboration that was on display here in the unfortunate instances and situations where an attack does occur. What the los angeles unified School District had done in advance and what they did in the midst of the crisis, the decisions made, is a model for exactly how we would suggest everyone do it. But i want to go back to beforehand, because as the superintendent said, we knew each other before the crisis occurred and that made all the difference in the world. In fact, some of our agents and analysts and leadership were on the campus with partners and colleagues from the School District just a week before, which was pretty amazing. Having those trusted relationships put us in a position to help and support the School District in responding to what occurred there and then helping to recover and reconstitute very quickly. The two messages i want to bring to each and everyone the fbi is, one, form and build that relationship of trust on preparedness and advance. Hopefully we can prevent something bad from happening. If it does occur, we are in a position to help and support you in responding to it. In the event something does happen, if there is a cyberattack, please call us immediately, because timeliness does matter. That is what was on display here. We were able to send in a compliment of agents, investigators, analysts, technical experts, computer scientists, data scientists, and others within 24 hours. We had teams on the ground both from our local office in los angeles, here from headquarters, we have what we call a Cyber Action Team which is comprised of the ultimate experts in response within this discipline in handling Cyber Threats. We had 15 personnel and more on the ground immediately, sidebyside with our partners from the School District. And it matters. In multiple ways. One, we are a victimfocused organization. We care. So we are there to provide support, reassurance, all the informational intelligence we can share with the victim and bring to bear in resolving the crisis, and that was on display here. There are real actions we can take as a superintendent. We were able to freeze two cloud accounts based on the information we gleaned very quickly and prevent sensitive and personally identifiable information that pertained to students and Staff Members and teachers from getting out into the public that the cyber criminals were using to attempt to extort the school. That was huge. We were able to take the information and intelligence gleaned quickly and package that with our partners from cisa and je an issuem and advisory quickly to put them in position to further defend their networks and systems. We were also able to identify cryptocurrency wallets that the bad actors were using, and gather indicators of compromise that went into the advisory. All of these things happen very quickly, and no doubt lead to preventing further attacks from occurring against other School Districts across the country. And probably even around the world. We are also able to serve as a gateway for other Government Resources to come in with cisa, with us. We inform each other of everything so we can bring our resources to bear collectively from across the federal government and beyond. All of these things matter. So again, i would say, make the relationship if you dont have it already. We have 56 main hub field offices across the country and several hundred suboffices. Every square inch of our country and there is somebody there for you. If you dont have the relationship already, we are here for you in that regard. In the event that something happens, call us immediately and i assure you that we will have the personnel there, sidebyside with our partners in government to help you get back on your feet and protect people and protect people Going Forward in the future. So, thank you for the partnership to each and every one of you. Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to be here today. Thank you, anne. Ms. Neuberger thank you so much. [applause] ms. Neuberger i wanted to take a moment to notice is that what paul was referencing was, the fbi is available 20 47. When we called in the cyber incident, if i recall correctly, it was either friday or saturday night, and there was no question that a team of men and women would, on a holiday weekend, go where the mission called them. Where they were needed. And for that just a moment of , applause and appreciation for the men and women. [applause] ms. Neuberger so as we are hearing, an ounce of preparation is worth many, many pounds of going through an incident. So with that, i would like to turn it over to the director of cisa, the Cyber Infrastructure and protection agency, director jen easterly. Thank you so much. I have been doing this for almost three decades. The level of collaboration i love the teamwork makes the dream work, exactly, across the federal government, state and local industry is better than it has ever been. I will not add a ton to whats already been said other than to really reinforce that what you just heard from superintendent carvalho is truly the Harvard Business School Case Study of how to get this right. Not just the building resilience ahead of time, but also how the actual response was handled in terms of the sharing information with fbi, with cisa, knowing that it might just not be a threat to the los angeles unified School District, it could be a threat to other School Districts, so sharing that information rapidly so that we could do that advisory that paul talked about. Sharing information transparently. Saying what was going on you may not know everything at the moment it occurs, but certainly providing information to keep people informed was incredibly important both to the government , but, of course, to the students and parents of the unified School District. This event today means so much to me as director of cisa, but also as a mom, because i know what it is like to have that uncertainty. Certainly, many of us went through it during the pandemic. We are doing what paul just mentioned where he has field offices around the country, we have built out our folks in the field. Cybersecurity advisors, state coordinators, many of the cios and cisos who are here have worked with my team. We are there to provide support. One of the things that was sparked by the incident last september was the toolkit that we worked on with great friends across the community, i think doug blevins from k12, to ensure that educators, School Districts, teachers, have basic tools that they need to be able to implement the basic protections. We understand that schools are often targetrich, sadly, but resourceconstrained. So we want to be there with our free services, with our best advice, with our guidance and our counsel to make sure you have all you need to raise the baseline on cybersecurity, but also importantly to know how to respond effectively to reduce and mitigate that risk and be the example that you just heard about from superintendent carvalho. I am pleased to be here. Thanks for the opportunity. Ms. Neuberger thank you very much. [applause] ms. Neuberger thank you all for sharing your invaluable perspectives. We have one last question for the superintendent. So, did you pay the ransom . Did i pay the ransom . We dont negotiate with terrorists. We did not pay the ransom. I have to say, we have never by the way, that was a very elegantlystated recommendation from our partners at the fbi. We are not telling you what to do, however, it never really pans out well when you pay. You inspire future attacks and there is no guarantee that the information you are attempting to prevent from being disseminated will not make its way to the dark red anyway. Further to the dark web anyway. For the educators and superintendent, create a task force of the best talent across the globe. We did that without compensation in a nonconflicting way, and then established a Running Committee of experts that meets in a privileged way to discuss the measures you have taken, and the ongoing acquisitions that you are willing to make. And last thing, force your words to acknowledge this is a highpriority, and budget accordingly, we usually dont. Thank you. [applause] space strategy. Then, more from the same event with representatives from google to talk about the opportunities and risks about artificial intelligence. Watch on cspan now and cspan. Org. Cspans washington journal, discussing the latest issues in government. Politics and public policy. Coming up thursday morning, concerned veterans discuss military and veterans policy. Then, a reporter talks about the possible 2020 election interference. Washington journal, joining the conversation live thursday morning on cspan or online. This year, but tv celebrates nonfiction books and authors. Book tv is live with the library of Congress National book festival. Tv has provided signature coverage of the National Book festival featuring hundreds of authors. Look tv gives you live coverage. A former nfl player. See the schedule online. 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