Attention all educators, how much do you know about cybersecurity? If you’re like most other people, including me until recently, you probably don’t know too much about it. Yet, cybersecurity is one of the most important aspects of our digital society and economy. More and more, our social and financial transactions are digital, often using a mobile device, and usually through a wireless connection. All of these transactions are susceptible to some type of hack. To avoid being a victim of some sort of cybersecurity breach, you need to understand the basics at a minimum. A great way to learn about cybersecurity is to coach students in a cybersecurity competition.

Since 2015 I have coached middle and high school students in CyberPatriot, the nation’s largest, youth cybersecurity competition. I have coached students in many STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) competitions over the years, and from a teacher’s perspective, CyberPatriot is one of the most accessible, both for the students and for you, the coach. The competition allows a coach to organize up to five teams of six students each. Each team has to be registered, but the fee can be waived in some cases. Coaches get detailed, clear instructions, as well as free training. This year, I took full advantage of about 100 hours of free network training provided by the Cisco Networking Academy. Nevertheless, you don’t need to know much about cybersecurity to get started. After you introduce the students to the program, they tend to take off and start learning independently using the free training materials provided by CyberPatriot. The competition provides an authentic, challenging learning experience that students appreciate. The season runs from late summer through December, after which there is a semi-final and final round for the best teams.

This past season at John Read Middle School, I had four teams of six students each, a record number for me. One of my teams ended up scoring high enough to earn First Place in the Middle School Division in Connecticut–in other words, they were the best middle school team in the state. They also qualified to compete in the semi-finals in January. The other three teams all did respectably, and all of the students showed tremendous progress throughout the season. Here is a photo of our winning team getting their award from our Superintendent and Principal, along with me, and our team mentor. It was a great season! I encourage you to check out this excellent opportunity for your students, and for yourself to learn more about cybersecurity.