Enriching Education - AI in Education

 The U.S. Department of Education has given schools the green light to use federal funds to bring AI into classrooms. Yet despite this official push, a new analysis from Cybernews reveals a strong disconnect: only about 3% of American students attend schools with any formal plan for technological improvement. In other words, more than 47 million students are navigating an education system ill-prepared for the realities of the AI age. 

“Closing the digital divide isn’t simply about handing out devices or switching on Wi-Fi,” said Žilvinas Girėnas, Head of Product at nexos.ai, an AI platform part of a new effort to bring advanced tools into Lithuanian schools. “It demands deeper changes – digital, including AI, literacy, equitable resources, and policy reforms – to ensure that no student is left behind in a world where technology shapes opportunity.”

Vulnerable Students Are Especially Exposed 

The digital divide hits vulnerable populations the hardest. Over the past five years, Cybernews’s analysis shows a 9% rise in homeless children attending K-12 schools nationwide, from 1.2 million to 1.4 million – now roughly 3% of the total 49 million students. In New York State, the increase is stronger: homeless student enrollment jumped 30%, from about 105,000 to nearly 140,000.

“The new U.S. policy allowing federal funds for AI integration in classrooms is a crucial opportunity but only if it centers on equitable access and comprehensive training,” said Girėnas.

Data from the School Pulse Panel shows persistent disparities: 62% of schools in higher-poverty neighborhoods offer digital literacy courses, compared to 70% in lower-poverty areas. Meanwhile, just 29% of public schools have improvement plans – and only a fraction include strategies for instructional technology.

The Growing Case for AI in Education

Generative AI has already found a foothold in education worldwide. According to IDC’s study, 86% of education organizations globally report using generative AI tools. Students have exhibited a significant increase in the use of AI across various categories, such as helping to develop skills for the future or helping to learn and study in a way that is best for them. A survey by Quizlet showed that 85% of American high school and college teachers and students aged 14-22 reported using AI technology, a noticeable increase from 66% in 2024. 

From lesson planning to brainstorming, assignment help to unpacking complex subjects, AI has seeped into the daily rhythms of teaching and learning. For students, particularly those facing learning challenges like dyslexia, AI offers personalized experiences: instant summaries, on-demand tutoring, and tailored support that reshapes how they engage with material.

Yet beneath this technological surge lies another reality: 36% of public schools lack the staff necessary for traditional tutoring, while only 13% provide on-demand online tutoring and 15% offer self-paced options. “These numbers could be improved by integrating AI tools into tutoring programs,” said Girėnas. “AI has the potential to expand access to individualized support, easing burdens on under-resourced schools, and helping more students connect deeply with their education.”

Protecting Sensitive Student Data Is Key

Schools collect a wide range of sensitive data, including personally identifiable information, academic performance metrics, behavioral engagement records, learning analytics, communication logs, and assistive technology data. 

“With federal funding set to fuel AI adoption in schools, every new system is a potential target,” says Aras Nazarovas, a senior cybersecurity researcher at Cybernews. “Before deployment, AI tools must undergo strict security checks and ongoing security monitoring.”

The risks can be huge. A report from the Center for Internet Security found 82% of U.S. K-12 schools faced cyber incidents from mid-2023 to late 2024. In just the first half of 2025, ransomware struck 130 schools, with average ransoms exceeding half a million dollars

Yet many schools lag in preparedness. While 67% provide AI training to staff, far fewer educate students – only 6% on technical AI use and 14% on ethics. Cyberattacks do more than disrupt schedules. UNICEF warns they deepen risks of manipulation, fraud, bias, and cyberbullying, harming students’ well-being both online and off.

“AI can be a powerful tool for learning,” Nazarovas concludes, “but only if privacy and safety lead every step of its adoption.”

ABOUT ŽILVINAS GIRĖNAS

Žilvinas Girėnas is an AI security expert and Product & Engineering Manager at nexos.ai, a technology platform founded by co-founders of Nord Security, Oxylabs, and Tesonet. Žilvinas is recognized for his work in developing secure, privacy-focused AI solutions for education, and has spoken publicly about the challenges and opportunities of integrating AI into schools in Lithuania and beyond.

ABOUT ARAS NAZAROVAS

Aras Nazarovas is a Senior Information Security Researcher at Cybernews, a research-driven online publication. Aras specializes in cybersecurity and threat analysis. He investigates online services, malicious campaigns, and hardware security while compiling data on the most prevalent cybersecurity threats. Aras along with the Cybernews research team have uncovered significant online privacy and security issues impacting organizations and platforms such as NASA, Google Play, App Store, and PayPal. The Cybernews research team conducts over 7,000 investigations and publishes more than 600 studies annually, helping consumers and businesses better understand and mitigate data security risks.

ABOUT CYBERNEWS

Cybernews is a globally recognized independent media outlet where journalists and security experts debunk cyber by research, testing, and data. Founded in 2019 in response to rising concerns about online security, the site covers breaking news, conducts original investigations, and offers unique perspectives on the evolving digital security landscape. Through white-hat investigative techniques, Cybernews research team identifies and safely discloses cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, while the editorial team provides cybersecurity-related news, analysis, and opinions by industry insiders with complete independence. For more, visit www.cybernews.com.

Cybernews has earned worldwide attention for its high-impact research and discoveries, which have uncovered some of the internet’s most significant security exposures and data leaks. Notable ones include:

• Cybernews researchers discovered multiple open datasets comprising 16 billion login credentials from infostealer malware, social media, developer portals, and corporate networks – highlighting the unprecedented risks of account takeovers, phishing, and business email compromise.

• Cybernews researchers analyzed 156,080 randomly selected iOS apps – around 8% of the apps present on the App Store – and uncovered a massive oversight: 71% of them expose sensitive data.

• Bob Dyachenko, a cybersecurity researcher and owner of SecurityDiscovery.com, and the Cybernews security research team discovered an unprotected Elasticsearch index, which contained a wide range of sensitive personal details related to the entire population of Georgia. 

• The team analyzed the new Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone’s web traffic, and found that Google's latest flagship smartphone frequently transmits private user data to the tech giant before any app is installed.

• The team revealed that a massive data leak at MC2 Data, a background check firm, affects one-third of the US population.

• The Cybernews security research team discovered that 50 most popular Android apps require 11 dangerous permissions on average.

• They revealed that two online PDF makers leaked tens of thousands of user documents, including passports, driving licenses, certificates, and other personal information uploaded by users.

• An analysis by Cybernews research discovered over a million publicly exposed secrets from over 58 thousand websites’ exposed environment (.env) files.

• The team revealed that Australia’s football governing body, Football Australia, has leaked secret keys potentially opening access to 127 buckets of data, including ticket buyers’ personal data and players’ contracts and documents.

• The Cybernews research team, in collaboration with cybersecurity researcher Bob Dyachenko, discovered a massive data leak containing information from numerous past breaches, comprising 12 terabytes of data and spanning over 26 billion records.