Girl Scouts of the USA joined forces with Palo Alto Networks — a Santa Clara, Calif.-based security company — to introduce cybersecurity badges for Girl Scouts in grades K-12.
This collaboration marks the first time Girl Scouts has rolled out badges — which demonstrate a participant's mastery in a given topic — in cybersecurity on a national level. The two organizations will launch 18 cybersecurity badges to encourage girls to explore STEM opportunities and develop leadership skills.
With growing concern over the IT security skils shortage in the U.S., Girl Scouts hopes its cybersecurity education program will help to spark an interest in children at all ages, targeting girls as young as five years old.
"It is our hope that our collaboration will serve to cultivate our troops' budding interest in cybersecurity by providing access to invaluable knowledge that may otherwise not be available to girls … in communities across the United States," said Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of Girl Scouts.
Girl Scouts and Palo Alto Networks plan to roll out the first of the 18 cybersecurity badges across the U.S. in September 2018.