How to Get More Girls Excited About Cybersecurity
From phishing to ransomware to big data breaches, cybercrime is growing fast — and so is the need to have more cybersecurity experts warding off potentially crippling attacks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the need for information security analysts will grow 32% from 2018 to 2028. Not only is that much faster than for other tech-based occupations, which are expected to grow by 12%, but it will far outpace the average growth of 5% for all occupations.
And amidst a shortage of cybersecurity experts, only 24% of those in the field today are female, according to a report by ISC2, an organization for cybersecurity professionals. Enticing more women to enter the profession is one way to alleviate the overall shortage of workers in this critical IT area.
Closing the Gaps
Leveling the playing field is an important factor in making cybersecurity a more appealing field for girls. Women are routinely paid less than men working in cybersecurity. The ISC2 report found that while 15% of women surveyed said their salaries ranged from $50,000 to $99,000, 29% of men reported the same. The gap closes a little when they earn more than $100,000, which 16% of women and 20% of men do. An encouraging sign is that younger women are earning closer to the same salaries as young men. At the same time, there is a wide gap between the pay for male and female baby boomers.
Nonprofit New America examined the issue and recommends connecting and publicizing existing resources for girls, such as Black Girls Code and Cybher, to open opportunities for girls to learn more about and participate in cybersecurity training. They also call for IT companies to recruit women and for entertainment and marketing platforms to help raise the profile of women and cybersecurity.
One program encouraging girls to go into cybersecurity is Girls Go CyberStart Club and Challenge for girls ages 13–18, which is being used in more than 1,200 high schools in 27 states. The program teaches cybersecurity through a game in which teams of students collaborate on how to stop gangs of cybercriminals and prevent computer systems from being attacked.
In 2019, the Girl Scouts partnered with Raytheon for its first Cyber Challenge in which they raced to save the oxygen supply on a colony of humans living on the moon from hackers by learning and using coding and cybersecurity. Almost 3,000 Girl Scouts in 10 cities took part, and in 2020 the Girl Scouts are expanding access to the challenge to all of its 111 councils across the U.S.
Cybersecurity in Everyday Life
Another way to boost interest in cybersecurity is by introducing girls to the threats they may face via examples of how breaches could affect them personally. What if their computer was attacked by ransomware that threatened to post all their photos online publicly? What if they opened a seemingly innocuous email attachment that spread malware on their computer so that they couldn’t access their English essay or biology project for school?
Teens and children, who are often more trusting than adults, can be especially vulnerable to social engineering attacks, and learning about them can help prepare them to be safe and ignite curiosity about cybersecurity issues. In social engineering, criminals find ways to gain a victim’s trust before tricking them into giving up information or letting them into their computer.
Learning that not only their computer but their phone, which is likely glued to most teens’ hands, can be hacked can lead them to think more critically about the importance of cybersecurity. While phishing is becoming well known, “smishing”, or the hacking of text messages, is just starting to gain more attention.
Attacks can also be made in person, with fake IT workers fooling individuals into giving access to sensitive files. A third kind of social engineering attack is more passive, with a criminal stealing an ATM PIN while watching over someone’s shoulder or finding documents that should have been shredded in a Dumpster instead.
Career Training and Benefits
Another way to excite girls about cybersecurity is through education. Having female teachers who encourage their students to consider tech careers can help ignite interest. Coding programs and camps help girls move into the field. Teachers with experience in coding and cybersecurity can take their knowledge online and help students outside traditional classroom settings with extra learning opportunities.
Learning about the high pay — inequities notwithstanding — and advancement potential can also be an incentive for girls to choose the field. The position of software engineering manager comes in as one of the top paying IT jobs. In 2018, Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the median annual salary for information security analysts was $98,350. The lowest 10% of earners made less than $56,750, and the highest 10% took home more than $156,580 each year.
And women cybersecurity workers are attaining higher positions in their companies than men, according to ICS2. For example, 7% of cybersecurity professionals who serve as chief technology officers are women, while only 2% of men are. Similarly, 18% of women in cybersecurity serve as IT directors versus 14% of men.
From making learning about cybersecurity fun through games and activities to demonstrating its importance in girls’ lives, a number of avenues can help teach girls about the potential of exploring cybersecurity as a career choice in a world where demand for workers in this field will only continue to grow.
