School Board Engages Behavioural-Threat Monitoring Service Following Rise in Insider-Threat Incidents
The Challenge
The Lakeside Regional School Board serves approximately 20,000 students across five districts in Ontario. In early 2024, a series of security events began to erode trust in the board’s digital environment.
The first indicators were subtle: unauthorized access to internal student records and unusual downloads from administrative accounts during off-hours. IT staff initially suspected an external compromise. Subsequent forensic review showed the activity originated internally.
Over six months, three insider-related incidents were confirmed. In one, a disgruntled employee viewed confidential mental health assessments for students and shared excerpts in a private group chat. In another, a temporary staff member copied payroll data to a personal USB drive. Although immediate harm was not substantiated, these events alarmed educators and parents.
Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the board had to assess whether the breaches created a “real risk of significant harm,” and to document reporting decisions. The investigation revealed key gaps: fragmented security logs, limited behavioural monitoring, outdated privacy policies, and inconsistent training participation. The teachers’ union raised concerns about punitive responses and requested a preventive, human-centred approach that respects collective agreements and privacy rights.
Reputational damage followed. Local media described a “trust breach within the classroom.” Parents questioned the security of sensitive student information. The Ministry of Education requested a briefing, and provincial privacy authorities asked for details on governance, safeguards, and accountability.
By this stage, staff morale and digital trust were low. Traditional perimeter controls and reactive investigations were no longer sufficient. The board needed a privacy-respecting behavioural monitoring capability that could identify insider risk indicators while preserving fairness and due process.
Our Solution
We implemented an Insider-Threat Risk Management Program that integrates privacy, labour relations, and security operations.
- Rapid containment and access hardening: Immediate credential rotation for implicated accounts; mandatory multifactor authentication for privileged roles; removal of unnecessary administrator rights; device controls that restrict USB usage for high-risk groups.
- Centralized visibility: Ingestion of identity, endpoint, email, student information system (SIS), human resources information system (HRIS), and SaaS logs into the board’s SIEM. Correlations emphasize human-centric detections such as privilege changes, anomalous data access, and off-hours activity.
- Behavioural-threat monitoring with safeguards: Deployment of an analytics platform configured to behavioural risk indicators. Controls include role-based access, data minimization, auditable workflows, and clearly defined business purposes. The design avoids surveillance of non-work communications.
- PIA/TRA and legal framework: A fast-tracked Privacy Impact Assessment and Threat Risk Assessment that confirm necessity, proportionality, and appropriate safeguards under PIPEDA and MFIPPA, with alignment to the Education Act. We prepared notification playbooks and preserved evidence under chain-of-custody.
- Insider Risk Review Board (IRRB): Governance that includes the Privacy Officer, HR, Security, Legal, and a union liaison. The IRRB reviews alerts, enforces least privilege, and promotes early, non-punitive interventions where appropriate.
- Training and policy refresh: Updated Acceptable Use, Access Management, and Breach Response policies. Targeted training for data handlers and privileged users, with attestations and automated reminders.
The Value
- Risk reduction: A 60 to 80 percent decrease in unauthorized access attempts to sensitive records within 90 days, measured through SIEM detections and blocks.
- Faster detection and response: Mean time to detect insider-type anomalies dropped from weeks to less than 24 hours. Mean time to respond declined to less than eight hours, supported by automated containment.
- Compliance readiness: Documented PIA/TRA, auditable alert handling, and breach-assessment records improved regulator readiness and alignment with PIPEDA and MFIPPA.
- Privilege hygiene: A full review of privileged groups and service accounts led to a greater than 40 percent reduction in standing administrator rights through just-in-time access.
- Culture and awareness: Training completion for high-risk roles reached 95 percent within 60 days. Clear escalation pathways reduced employee concerns related to monitoring.
- Operational efficiency: Consolidated logs and standardized playbooks reduced analyst triage time by approximately 50 percent, and tuning of behavioural indicators cut false positives by 30 to 40 percent.
