The Evolving Student Password: Ensuring Digital Security Throughout a Student’s School Career

In the same way we want to protect students in physical environments, we also have to think about protecting their digital identities. Schools handle vast amounts of sensitive data, from student records to assessment results, information we don’t want to risk getting into the wrong hands. One of the simplest yet most effective ways to protect this data is through strong password policies that evolve as students progress through their academic journey. Schools and colleges must adhere to established digital standards to ensure a secure, efficient, and inclusive learning environment.

The Foundations: Simplifying Early Access with Clever Badges

For young learners in primary education, traditional passwords can be challenging to remember, let alone type on a keyboard. This can lead to frustration and an overreliance on teachers or shared, weak passwords. To mitigate this, many schools start by introducing physical pass-code authentication that look like QR codes.

Clever Badges allow young students to log in by simply scanning a unique code with a device, reducing barriers to access while maintaining digital security. This method also eliminates the need for writing down passwords, which can easily be lost or shared inappropriately.

Building Complexity: Introducing Secure Passwords

As students grow up and develop better digital literacy skills, it is important to transition them to more traditional password-based authentication. In Key Stage 2 and early secondary education, students should be encouraged to use strong, unique passwords.

A good approach is to implement passphrases—combinations of random words that are easy to remember but difficult to crack. We encourage schools to teach students about password hygiene, including:

• Avoiding common words or personal information (e.g., pet names, birthdays)

• Using a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols

• Never reusing passwords across different sites

Enhancing Digital Security: Introducing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

By the time students reach secondary school, they are ready to learn how to use multi-factor authentication (MFA). By introducing an additional security layer, MFA safeguards against unauthorised access, even if a password has been breached.

Clever's Classroom MFA ensures the security that digital classrooms require, without sacrificing the ease of access that students need for digital learning. It's a system that's not only effective but also fun and loved by students.

Classroom MFA is an MFA solution designed for schools that doesn’t require a 2nd device. This flexibility ensures that staff and teachers can securely access critical applications and devices without relying on personal devices. Classroom MFA integrates seamlessly with platforms like Google Workspace, Chromebooks, and Entra ID.

The rise of cyber threats in education is alarming. And with schools now managing more sensitive digital information than ever before, cyberattacks pose risks to student addresses, financial details, staff information and other personal data tied to HR, Finance and other departments.

Outdated cybersecurity strategies are an unfortunate weakness in schools that are struggling to keep up with sophisticated attack methods, and easy-to-guess passwords are the biggest culprit.

"Once our curriculum and instruction leadership learned that Classroom MFA would make logging in easier and that it was less challenging than they anticipated, they were ready to implement it because Classroom MFA is education-friendly. Remembering two pictures is easier than remembering a password that you change every 30 days. That was the moment they leaned in, saying, ‘We can do this, and let’s start day one!" - Tom Clark, Director of Technology

Preparing for the Future: Cybersecurity Awareness

Beyond just enforcing password policies, it is crucial to educate students about broader cybersecurity principles. It’s important for all members of the school community to become aware of these risks. We encourage all schools to integrate digital safety lessons that cover topics such as:

• Recognising phishing attempts and suspicious links

• Understanding the importance of data privacy

• Safe online behaviour and social media security

Contact Canopy to find out more about setting up Clever MFA in your school