Cybersecurity Education Resources for Grades 9-12

High school is a time when students are faced with so many choices about their future, and that future may even include a career in cybersecurity! For these young adults, CISA offers high-level resources for students, guiding them through a world of opportunities for those considering a career in cyber, including information about grants and scholarships. 

In today’s world, the internet is inevitably intertwined in a high school student’s daily life. It helps them research information for homework, find out more about colleges they might attend, and interact with their friends and family. Unfortunately, teenagers are a prime source of valuable personal information to those hackers with malicious intent.  CISA offers teens valuable lessons on the new cyber threats they’ll face as they enter adulthood. 

 9-12 Cybersecurity Resources

Cyber Safety

• Which websites are okay to visit? What kind of information is acceptable—and more importantly, what is not acceptable—to share online? CISAs Cybersecurity Awareness Resources for Parents and Educators provides resources and materials to help you start the discussion with your kids or students.
• The Creating a Password Tip Card is a one-page document with a list of simple tips to create a secure password that is suitable for a teenage and adult audience.
•  Chatting with Kids about Being Online is a booklet that is an excellent resource for parents and educators, covering topics from cyberbullying to smarter smart phone usage. 
• CYBER.ORG and CISA partnered to produce the Cyber Safety Series, a video series highlighting some common potential threats children are likely to face online and what can be done to make sure everyone stays safe.
• The Resilience Series Graphic Novels highlight the importance of evaluating information sources to help individuals understand the risks from foreign influence operations on our society and democracy.

Cybersecurity Education and Career Development

• The NICCS Cybersecurity for Students site is perfect for those high school students looking for cybersecurity information and resources to be successfulin a cyber career. From suggested classes to take in high school and college, to cyber career facts, education, and salary information, the NICCS site has all the information cyber students need. 
• CYBER.ORG and CISA partnered to create the Cyber Career ProfileCards to provide students with important cyber career information, such as required education, average salary info, and common job duties: These cards are also available in Spanish.
• For those students looking at next steps after high school, CISA Cyber Workforce Training and Development (CWD) partner, Per Scholas, provides tuition-free tech career training for those 18 and older with a high school diploma/equivalent or higher, and a passion for technology.
• CISA CWD partner, CyberWarrior, provides high school students with access to high-quality training and certifications explicitly tailored to teenagers. Bilingual instructional assistance is also available.

Cybersecurity Games and Hands-On Activities

• The NICCS Cybersecurity for Students site hosts a list of cyber security clubs, camps, and competitions that provide students the opportunity to become more involved in the cyber community, in a fun and interactive way. 
• The CYBER.ORG Range is a no-cost, safe, virtual environment to practice cybersecurity skills. The Range allows teachers to lead their students through labs and lets them experience cyber-attacks in a safe and controlled virtual environment.