By Michael Kaiser, NCSA Executive Director

Yesterday, at a featured panel at the RSA conference, NCSA launched a volunteer program for IT professionals to go into schools and teach cyber security, cyber safety, and cyber ethics.

The Cyber Security Awareness Volunteer Education Project is an effort to help fill the tremendous gap in K-12 education of Internet safety and Security.  NCSA is calling all IT professionals who want use their expertise to give back to their community to get involved.

The morning’s panel consisted of:

• Dr. Davina Pruit Mentle, ETPRO Author of NCSA’s K-12 Baseline Study
• Roland Cloutier, Chief Security Officer EMC
• Mischel Kwon, Director of US-CERT
• Bill Sanderson, Principal of International Studies Academy in San Francisco

The panel provided some of the somber facts about the lack of comprehensive cyber safety, cyber security, and cyber ethics education, such as low penetration of comprehensive curriculum in schools and the lack of teacher preparedness. Howvever, the panel also provided inspiration about what could be acomplished. Roland Cloutier emphasized that its rewarding and fun to teach young people Internet safety, and even if we only end up protecting one child the effort is worth it.

NCSA is encouraging all IT professionals concerned about keeping young people safe and secure on the Internet to consider giving back to their community. Learn more about CSAVE.

SSO (stay safe online)

Michael