July 15, 2021

School closures during the pandemic brought about many changes to educational systems. Administrators, teachers, students, and parents each faced significant challenges through the course of the year. In some regards, these changes provided new opportunities for students through remote learning platforms. In other instances, however, some struggled with the lack of in-person support and hands-on learning. But as we emerge from the pandemic, schools will not only be faced with these issues but new ones as well. And one of these may well be dealing with classrooms without borders.

Understandably, students who attend public school systems in the US are required to live within specific school districts. But during the pandemic, the boom of online learning platforms allowed some leniency in this regard. (Read more about the online learning boom in this Bold story.) Currently enrolled students were allowed to log in remotely in order to perform educational activities. Most did this from home within the school district, but some chose to do this from abroad. In essence, this education without boundaries, at least in a physical sense, offered needed learning opportunities for some students. This raises the possibility of how school systems may to consider classrooms without borders in the future.

“It takes a thirst for education on the part of the student to log in to school from Egypt or Kenya. It takes dedication from the teachers, staff, school board and administration to make that happen.” – Pat Politano Mid-Manhattan School District Spokesperson

A Snapshot of Remote Education without Boundaries

To gain a better understanding of what classrooms without borders looks like, it’s worth examining student behaviors this past year. In many school districts, particularly in urban areas, some immigrant and minority students chose to attend from afar. While residing in countries like the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Honduras, and others, these students accessed school platforms online. In total, as many as 2 to 3% of these individuals periodically attended classes abroad. Given the circumstances surrounding the pandemic, education without boundaries made sense for some.

In many cases, students accessing public school systems from other countries did so out of necessity. Some parents, who were unable to secure childcare at home while working, sought the assistance of foreign relatives. Other students traveled to other countries to care for sick relatives. And others simply took the opportunity that education without boundaries offered to reconnect with relatives living elsewhere. Because all students were essentially participating in classrooms without borders, many students saw this as permissible.

“We of course don’t encourage it. But families here have just faced so many challenges during the pandemic. I’d rather have them learning from wherever they are than not.” – Susana A. Perón, Deputy Superintendent of Paterson Public Schools

Challenges with Classrooms without Borders

In terms of education without boundaries, clear challenges do exist. For one, school districts require that students reside within geographic areas in order to attend both online and in-person sessions. As a result, students logging in remotely can usually only be abroad for a certain amount of time. In addition, classrooms without borders means that students are on different time zones. This means some students may need to access online activities at unusual hours. Notably, this is usually not ideal when trying to create ideal learning environments.

Innovations in digital communications means classrooms without borders–for better or for worse.

It is also quite clear that students choosing to log in remotely from other countries tend to be immigrants and minorities. It is well recognized that these students already suffer from achievement gaps in traditional classrooms. Therefore, classrooms without borders could exacerbate these problems. The lack of in-person support and inherent technology issues with remote access could make matters worse. This form of education without boundaries enables remote access that can certainly be helpful. But at the same time, it may also create additional obstacles to learning for some students.

“It’s one thing to say kids can log in anytime, anywhere. But if they’ve gone someplace where they need to log in at 2 a.m., that doesn’t seem ideal.” – Mike Magee, Chief Executive of Chiefs for Change

Seizing Potential Opportunities with Remote Learning

If there is one thing that the pandemic taught us, it’s that we are resilient and can rapidly adapt to change. This was certainly true of educational systems as teachers and administrators had to quickly adopt new practices. Notably, one of these practices involved the implementation of online learning systems. Educators scrambled to create new curricula and new learning activities in this new environment. At the same time, they also had to develop new support structures to help both students and parents alike. Though this was challenging, these school systems effectively created classrooms without borders. And now that they are in place, new opportunities for education without boundaries exist.

Understanding this, administrators and teachers together must embrace these opportunities moving forward. Current classrooms without borders have notably given some students and parents a level of support needed amidst a crisis. From this perspective, further developing education without boundaries could result in more effective ways to meet student and parent needs. While these systems should never sacrifice academic quality, it’s evident that many students thrive in remote online learning environments. Therefore, providing such options for learning in a more comprehensive manner could have clear advantages. These are worthwhile pursuits that educational systems should consider in a post-pandemic world.

Borderless Classrooms – Next Steps

Virtual environments are proving to be advantageous in a number of areas. This includes not only virtual entertainment platforms but also those involving telemedicine and telehealth. Beyond public school systems, remote online learning platforms are also on the rise. Therefore, it seems quite logical that public school systems should explore these opportunities as well. Classrooms without borders could potentially better utilize limited educational resources. They could also improve access to learning supports that may otherwise not be available. Creative solutions are needed for education without boundaries to be realized. But as the pandemic has clearly shown, these alternatives do have potential.

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On the Friday before the July 4th holiday, hundreds of small companies were attacked by ransomware. The planned attack was well calculated, and in the process, a demand for $70 million in Bitcoin resulted. As it turned out, one of the Russian-linked ransomware gangs called REvil was responsible. The group targeted specific software made by US firm Kaseya that is based in Miami. As a software provider to dozens of outsource IT management companies, the attack had ripple effects. Ultimately, roughly 1500 small companies were affected. This begs the question: “Can we win the ransomware battle?”

Year after year, ransomware gangs are ramping up the number of attacks on organizations throughout the world. In the Kaseya attack, customers in over 17 countries were involved. Based on the type of software targeted, multiple industries and sectors were affected. This highlights the fact that the ransomware battle is hardly focused on one industry. Likewise, ransomware gangs are highly distributed, and also highly specialized. All of these factors indicate that our ability too easily prevent ransomware attacks may not be likely. But that does not mean we still cannot make progress as the ransomware battle evolves.

“With Colonial Pipeline, a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, they’re coming from the oil.’ But these guys could care less. They just want to find the slowest moving target. So, make sure you’re not the easiest target.” – Christopher Ahlberg, Founder of Recorded Future

Profiling Ransomware Gangs

The term ransomware gangs is often used when describing cyberattacks that use malware to hold companies hostage. The term tends to suggest that ransomware gangs consist of dozens of members at a time. However, in reality, these groups often involve anywhere from one to three people. Talented hackers equipped with high-quality ransomware software and skills, these individuals successfully target vulnerable businesses. And likewise, hundreds of these types of ransomware gangs exist, making it difficult to establish their profiles.

With this in mind, larger cybercriminal networks do exist. In the case of the Kaseya attack, REvil represented a group that offers ransomware-as-a-service to interested hackers. Any of these hackers can access specific software provided by REvil to accomplish their goals. Another well-known hacking collective is Dark Side. It too represents a larger group of hackers who together share an array of skills and talents. Does, the ransomware battle does not involve a few major cyber-crime organizations. Instead, multiple individual agents are the ones who actually pose such threats.

“Make no mistake, the timing and target of this attack are no coincidence. It illustrates what we define as a Big Game Hunting attack, launched against a target to maximize impact and profit through a supply chain during a holiday weekend when business defenses are down.” – Adam Meyers, SVP of Intelligence, CrowdStrike

Timing the Kaseya Cyberattack

As noted, the Kaseya attack was well timed around the holiday weekend. This is potentially a time when business defenses might be less robust. However, the timing was ironically important in another way. Kaseya had recently identified a potential vulnerability in their software days before. They were in the process of developing a patch to prevent ransomware gangs from taking advantage of this weakness. But before the patch could be developed, these cyber event took place. This simply highlights the precision and urgency with which the ransomware battle occurs.

In essence, Kaseya makes software that allows other companies to manage IT networks and devices remotely. Therefore, it’s primary customers are IT management firms. These firms then use Kaseya software to remotely service networks of hundreds of smaller companies. Ransomware gangs, by hacking into this software, effectively infiltrated not only these IT management firms. But they also accessed all of these smaller companies as well. As a result, grocery stores, retailers, schools, and even railways systems were forced to shut down their servers. This demonstrates the broad range of sectors in which the ransomware battle rages.

“There are probably 10, 15, maybe 20 different types of services involved in this. And they’re all very highly specialized, which is very much why these guys have been able to be so successful and also why it’s hard to go at it.” – Christopher Ahlberg

A Non-Military Network Operating with Military Precision

These underground collectives of hackers and ransomware gangs are not simply amateur programmers and designers. Instead, networks like REvil and Dark Side consist of hundreds of professionals who specialize in a number of services. Notably, some have talents and skills in exploiting software and network vulnerabilities. However, others specialize in cryptocurrency transfers and writing specific codes that others can use. In fact, many of these collectives operate like a franchise, providing materials and services to ransomware gangs. All of this makes the ransomware battle more difficult. (Is cryptocurrency truly safe? Read this Bold Business story and find out.)

At the forefront of the ransomware battle are ransomware gangs motivated by easy money.

In regards two intelligence agencies working with these ransomware gangs, the relationships can vary. Both REvil and Dark Side are certainly linked to Russian government entities. However, the ransomware gangs affiliated with these networks tend to operate independently without intelligence agency oversight. As hackers, they are often allowed freedoms that facilitate skill development in a private sector. Once such skills are developed, government intelligence agencies may recruit specific individuals. Alternatively, they may task ransomware gangs with specific missions. Here again, the ransomware battle involves a diverse number of activities.

Is the Ransomware Battle Lost?

Given the complexities and specialization of ransomware gangs and cybercrime networks, there should be concern. However, this does not mean that the ransomware battle is lost or that effective cyber protection doesn’t exist. While ransomware attacks may never be completely eliminated, best practices can markedly diminish their occurrence. This not only involves staying up to date with the latest cyber security technologies. It also requires constant monitoring, updating, and surveillance. For those who wish to survive the ransomware battle, cyber-security protections are non-negotiable.

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Day: July 15, 2021

Education Without Boundaries – New Opportunities, New Challenges

A Snapshot of Remote Education without Boundaries

Challenges with Classrooms without Borders