T.H.E. Journal: The Hidden Cyber Risk in Schools

This article was originally published in T.H.E. Journal on 10/22/25 by Charlie Sander.

Printers may not be glamorous, but they are an often-overlooked attack vector that should be part of every district’s cybersecurity strategy

Cyber attacks are hitting K–12 schools with alarming regularity. From mid-2023 through 2024, more than four out of five reporting districts faced some kind of breach, such as ransomware, stolen data, or network lockouts. And still, one part of the network gets little attention: the printers.

And that blind spot matters. A 2024 Quocirca survey found that 67% of organizations reported at least one print-related data loss. Walk into any front office, and that same copier printing worksheets might also be processing student records, individualized education plans, or HR forms, all of which are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Printers don’t get treated like computers, but they should. The same security discipline applies because attackers look for the easiest way in. Weak points like unchanged factory passwords or open network ports are simple to fix, yet they remain some of the biggest risks in school environments.

Charlie Sander, CEO, ManagedMethods

A breach here isn’t a minor technical slip; it’s a compliance problem with legal and reputational fallout. The question for districts now is simple: Why are printers still the forgotten attack vector, and what will it take to secure them?

Why Printers Are the Forgotten Attack Vector

When K–12 IT teams talk cybersecurity, the conversation usually centers on the obvious endpoints such as student laptops, classroom tablets, and the district’s learning management system. Only 38% of IT decision-makers say procurement, IT, and security teams collaborate to define printer security standards.

Although printers often escape the security hygiene IT that applies elsewhere, they are, in reality, internet of things (IoT) devices with operating systems, storage, and network connectivity.

A single networked printer can serve dozens — even hundreds — of endpoints. In a one-to-one Chromebook environment, every student device typically has access to shared printers. That creates a much larger attack surface than most people realize. When one printer isn’t properly secured, the risk extends beyond that single device; it potentially affects every endpoint connected to it…