BUFFALO TWP — Freeport School District may get cyber liability insurance.

Dereck Malzi of the Pittsburgh firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. at the school board meeting Wednesday proposed covering the district from cyber attacks that attempt to access student and staff information.

The district would pay roughly $6,500 annually for the coverage under a $1 million policy. There would be a $10,000 deductible.

Malzi cited various sources of such attacks, including hackers, viruses and third-party vendors.

He said a current scam is hackers posing as payroll companies asking for W-2 wage forms.

The problem is not restricted to people purposely trying to steal information. Human error also makes the district vulnerable, according to Malzi.

Ryan Manzer, district business manager, said the school system already has taken steps to protect information such as omitting Social Security numbers from student records.

“We tried to eliminate Social Security numbers everywhere we can,” he said. Manzer said the numbers would have to be kept with employee records.

Malzi said a security breach can occur with an outside party having just a last name and a password.

Board member Christine Davies asked if the district could be sued for not having such coverage.

District solicitor Matt Hoffman confirmed the district could be sued even if it buys the insurance.

Malzi explained the extensive process the district would have to follow if a breach occurs, including hiring a forensic team to examine and notify all of the potentially affected staffers and students.

Creditor monitoring also would have to be done for a year.

Malzi said having the insurance simplifies that process and reduces the district's cost.

According to Malzi, 78 school districts already buy the insurance from his firm, including Deer Lakes, Hampton and Allegheny Valley.

Manzer said even the districts that don't have it now are evaluating whether to add it.

Dan Lucovich, board president, said the coverage is likely worth it.

“It's probably a big value,” he said.

Manzer said the district already has received email scams.

“We definitely have been targeted as a district,” he said.

Manzer said due to staff training, those scams were not successful.

James Wagner, executive director of the Armstrong Indiana Intermediate Unit, who attended the meeting, said a discussion of cyber insurance is worthwhile.