North Carolina school districts can now apply for IBM grants meant to strengthen cybersecurity via IBM.org through March 1 to receive one of the six $500,000 grants, which will be contributed via in-kind funding. IBM points out that in the past year, schools have become a growing target for cyberattacks, particularly ransomware, which involves bad actors blocking access to school systems and demanding payment to release them. More than 1,600 schools fell victim to this attack in 2020 alone, including Richmond Community College just outside of Raleigh in Hamlet, Burke County Public Schools just outside of Charlotte, Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown and Haywood County schools near Asheville.