Netskope for Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Compliance

Supporting information

What is Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) compliance? The challenge Netskope's solutions for FERPA compliance Key questions answered in this guide Get the FERPA compliance guide

3 min read

What is Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) compliance?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of educational records by any institution receiving funds from the U.S. Secretary of Education. While the law does not specify exact technical controls, the U.S. Department of Education provides a data governance checklist and a data security checklist as recommended guidance. Schools must build a framework where data privacy is a fundamental part of daily operations. The core objective is to ensure that student data is collected, managed, and stored in a way that preserves privacy and confidentiality.

The challenge

With the rise of online lectures and the delivery of courses via digital mediums, institutions now have to manage cloud applications, personal devices, and remote access points. Administrators cannot track every application in use, or identify who exactly has access to specific student files. Without a central view, data can move into unmanaged areas where security is weak. A single misconfigured storage bucket or unapproved app creates a gap in the protective wall. Institutions need a way to see every data flow and stop risks before they become incidents.

Netskope's solutions for FERPA compliance

Application discovery and inventory control: Cloud access security broker (CASB) and next generation secure web gateway (NG-SWG) identify and catalog managed and unmanaged applications, helping institutions maintain current inventories of software and data files.
Real-time data protection and classification: Data loss prevention (DLP) uses machine learning to identify, classify, and protect sensitive information across web, cloud applications, and endpoint devices in real time.
Data flow visibility and risk assessment: Advanced analytics maps data flows across web and cloud services to categorize information by sensitivity and assess cloud risk via a centralized dashboard.
Saas security: SaaS security posture management (SSPM) monitors SaaS functions to prevent misconfigurations and ensure proper use of assets and data. SSPM provides remediation instructions and integrates with cloud ticket orchestrator for service tickets and automated remediation.
Secure remote access with least privilege: Zero trust network access (ZTNA) provides encrypted remote connectivity to private applications while enforcing least-privilege access.
Identity integration and access assurance: The system integrates with identity providers to enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO), ensuring only authorized personnel access sensitive records.
Insider threat detection and behavior analysis: Advanced user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) detects insider threats by establishing activity baselines and assigning a user confidence index (UCI) score based on behavior patterns.
Web threat isolation and malware prevention (RBI): Remote browser isolation (RBI) secures the network by containing risky websites in secure containers to prevent malware infections.
Logging, forensics, and audit support: Cloud log shipper (CLS) exports detailed event logs to security incident and event management (SIEM) tools to support forensic investigations and establish non-repudiation of user actions.

Key questions answered in this guide

How do we identify every managed and unmanaged cloud application currently in our IT ecosystem?
What steps can we take to de-identify personal data in real time to prevent unauthorized disclosure?
How can we enforce different levels of data access based on job descriptions and responsibilities?
What is the best way to continuously scan cloud storage buckets to prevent data exfiltration?
How do we maintain the detailed logs and records required to support forensic investigations?

Get the FERPA compliance guide

Get a step-by-step breakdown of how to safeguard student privacy across your entire network. Download the guide now for a detailed explanation and connect with the Netskope team for a professional demonstration of these tools.