Girl Scouts Partner With Silicon Valley To Offer Cybersecurity Badges

Starting next year, Girl Scouts nationwide will have 18 more options of what topics to pursue when it comes to earning badges. The new badges will add to those the organization already offered in the science, technology, engineering and math fields, frequently referred to as the STEM fields. The cybersecurity badges will be offered through a joint effort from Girl Scouts and Palo Alto Networks, a press release said.

The badges won’t all roll out at once so it may take some time for all of them to become available but the first of the 18 planned are on track for a September 2018 release. The hope is that the programs through which the badges can be earned will inspire the next generation of cybersecurity experts who are growing up in a world that lacks cybersecurity workers, particularly women.

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Women only make up 11 percent of professionals working in the cybersecurity industry. And of those in the industry 51 percent of them reported some form of discrimination in the workforce and on average they earn less than men at every level, 2017 Global Information Security Workforce Study: Women in Cybersecurity found.

The new badges will introduce the cybersecurity field to the 1.8 million girls and 800,000 adult leaders involved in the Girl Scouts across the country, the news release said. The Girl Scouts also plan to introduce the material in an interesting and fun way to spark interest and support interested girls as young as 5 years old.

Current science and technology badges include home science, entertainment technology and the science of style and innovation badges will feature inventor and social innovator as a way of encouraging girls to get involved in whatever field they choose. The organization calls this teaching technique “fun with purpose.”

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Girl Scout badges are earned and then displayed on the uniforms of a Scout who has demonstrated their mastery of a certain subject. The new topics in cybersecurity will be led by expert security advisers who will help set up the programs and ensure their quality.

“At Girl Scouts of the USA, we recognize that in our increasingly tech-driven world, future generations must possess the skills to navigate the complexities and inherent challenges of the cyberrealm,” Sylvia Acevedo, chief executive officer, at Girl Scouts of the USA, said in a press release. “From arming our older girls with the tools to address this reality to helping younger girls protect their identities via internet safety, the launch of our national cybersecurity badge initiative represents our advocacy of cyber preparedness — and our partnership with Palo Alto Networks makes a natural fit for our efforts.”