From Hillary Clinton’s email debacle to Facebook’s data breaches, we’ve all heard about cybersecurity failures in the news. The National Institute of Standards and Technology states that cybercrime is estimated to cost around $6 trillion per year by 2021, making strengthening our cyber education a must.
Unfortunately, the US government has woefully fallen short of ensuring that the younger generation is educated about cybersecurity. According to a 2020 survey by the EdWeek Research Center, only a meager 10% of K-12 educators are versed in cybersecurity, and around 40% of K-12 schools educate their students in basic digital etiquette and literacy. How can we expect to inform youth about cybersecurity if our schools don’t require the subject and our teachers can’t teach the topic?
I’ve experienced this dearth of a cybersecurity education during my own time in school. The closest thing I had to a school-sponsored education related to cybersafety was an optional after-school cybersecurity club. This has to change.
I urge lawmakers to propose a bill mandating a cybersecurity and cybersafety class requirement in our school systems. As the century progresses and technology becomes increasingly advanced, cybersecurity will become more and more important. Therefore, it is compulsory that the future generation is well-informed about it.
Kesava Viswanadha, Chesterfield
