Rhode Island schools to implement new cyber security tool by end of school year

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — White House National Cyber Director Harry Coker, Jr. announced Monday that all K-12 public schools in Rhode Island will be equipped with a free cyber service to protect school systems and data.

Protective Domain Name Service (PDNS) will be implemented in 64 school districts throughout Rhode Island, helping to prevent ransomware attacks by blocking computer systems from connection to dangerous websites.

Rhode Island will be the first state in the nation to utilize this service.

The PDNS services will be given free of charge through federal funding and will be in all Rhode Island schools by the end of the school year, according to the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

“According to the U.S. Department of Education, every week, school districts average five cyber incidents,” said Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee.

“Rhode Island is making a statewide push for every local education agency to commit to some simple but effective strategies that help protect our data from those threats.”