The Ithaca City School District (ICSD) has been selected to receive $639,600 in funding through New York State’s State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, supporting the district’s ongoing work to strengthen cybersecurity and protect information and systems that students, families, and staff rely on every day.
Through the grant, the ICSD will receive a set number of physical multi-factor authentication (MFA) security keys. The keys provide an additional layer of protection for user accounts, helping safeguard district systems and data from unauthorized access.
“Learning that we had received an award of this size was incredibly exciting and represents a tremendous opportunity for the district," said Zack Drucker, assistant director of technology. "Cybersecurity is an area that requires constant attention and continued investment, and this funding allows us to expand on measures we have in place in a meaningful and practical way. These security keys will help us reduce risk and further secure access to the technology our schools depend on every day.”
MFA is a security measure that requires users to provide more than one form of verification when accessing an account. Physical security keys add another layer of protection beyond a username and password, helping reduce the risk that compromised credentials could be used to gain access to district systems.
The grant is part of a statewide $9 million initiative through which only 161 government entities were selected to receive MFA security keys. The program is administered through the New York State Office of Information Technology Services and supported by federal funding.
For the ICSD, the investment is part of a broader effort to maintain secure, reliable, and sustainable technology systems. As technology becomes increasingly central to how students learn, educators collaborate, and families connect with schools, protecting those systems is an important part of the district’s responsibility to its community.
The district’s Technology Department plays an important role in supporting the infrastructure that makes teaching, learning, and district operations possible. In addition to providing day-to-day technology support, the department works behind the scenes to maintain reliable systems, manage access and devices, protect district information, and continuously strengthen cybersecurity practices. This work helps ensure that technology remains a secure and dependable part of the ICSD learning environment.