DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — On Monday night, the Southern Door County school board met to discuss how to increase its online safety.
That meeting came a few days after Laura Griffin, 57, from Pickerington, Ohio, was charged on two counts of theft under false representation, taking a total of $67,636 in September and October 2025 that has now been recovered in a phishing scam.
"As an organization, I can protect my systems using the cybertechnology or the cybersecurity solutions," said Omar Meqdadi, an associate professor of cybersecurity at the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay. "But I can not control the emotions and feelings of people."
For Meqdadi, the incident comes as no surprise, with schools being an easy option for scammers.
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"I believe schools are attractive targets because they manage public funds," Meqdadi said. "They work with many vendors. They have limited cybersecurity resources."
Resources which the Southern Door County School District is improving.
In a news release, the district said it has reviewed its financial and cybersecurity practices. These include providing updated purchasing training, expanding the types of purchases that require a purchase order, and additional email security through Door County IT company Quantum Technologies.
"This would be very great," Meqdadi said, reacting to Southern Door's improvements. "Training your employee is at the top. Then, you can go next to cybersecurity solutions that we have."
I reached out to the Southern Door County school board for an interview and—as of the time this story was filmed—they had not gotten back to me.
Griffin is due back in court on Monday at the Door County Justice Center.
