In this episode, Laurie Salvail, Ph.D., Executive Director of CYBER.ORG, joins me to discuss the importance of cybersecurity education for K-12 students. Primarily funded by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), CYBER.ORG is a powerful and free resource available to K-12 students and educators in the United States. CYBER.ORG’s Range, a cloud-based virtual environment, empowers K-12 students with real-world cybersecurity skills in a secure platform. Action Items and Discussion Highlights To inquire about professional development opportunities and resources for your school, contact CYBER.ORG at [email protected] or through the website.Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is one of the main funders of CYBER.ORG.CYBER.ORG offers no-cost professional development for teachers and caregivers across the US.Currently, over 35,000 teachers have access to CYBER.ORG content and other resources.Resources at Cyber.Org are available to all schools -- public, private, and homeschools.If a child is old enough to receive some type of technology, then they are old enough to learn how to use it.For cybersecurity education and training to be effective, they should be delivered in a fun, interactive, and immersive manner.Encourage industry professionals in your network to volunteer at local schools, speak to students about their cybersecurity-related careers, and help promote awareness about the field. Time Stamps 00:02 -- Introduction 00:49 -- Guest's Professional Highlights 02:41 -- About Cyber.Org 06:08 -- Vulnerability of youth to different forms of cyber attacks 07:22 -- Gaining access to Cyber.Org resources 08:34 -- Gaps in cyber education from K-12 13:36 -- How early should kids be exposed to cybersecurity awareness programs? 15:21 -- Cybersecurity is everyone's business 17:13 -- Should cybersecurity education be part of the K-12 core curriculum as early as possible? 22:35 -- Many schools have their own cybersecurity curriculum and cybersecurity program. So, where do cyber.org resources fit in for these schools? 28:26 -- How can listeners, as well as their organizations, help the cause of K-12 cybersecurity education? Memorable Laurie Salvail Quotes/Statements "A big part of who we are, though, is that we do grant writing to make our resources available completely free of charge for any school district teacher; we will never charge the user for anything at all." "We are very thankful to receive funding from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). They're one of our main funders right now, allowing us to create these resources for students across the US.  "We are able to offer no-cost professional development for our teachers and caregivers across the US." "If you want to teach a student about cybersecurity, come to cyber.org, and we've got free resources for you to dive into and learn how to have those conversations where we're exciting our children." "We have over 35,000 teachers right now that have access to our content." "Cybersecurity is an important topic for all students at all grade levels. There's an age-appropriate way to do it at those levels, and we're here to help, so spreading that message is really important." "Resources at Cyber.Org are available to all schools, public, private, and homeschool families." "Every school is unique, and every school is different, and we hop on a call with each school to say, what will work in your building, what do your students