HPE to Teach Girl Scouts About Cybersecurity

Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced yesterday that it will partner with a Girl Scouts organization to teach girls how to protect themselves against phishing, cyberbullying, and other dangers online. 

HPE worked with Girl Scouts Nation's Capital, an organization serving the greater Washington, D.C. area, to create a game and curriculum to teach girls cybersecurity literacy. Part of the goal is to encourage girls to cultivate an interest in cybersecurity and IT and eventually pursue careers in those fields.

The game and curriculum are geared toward Junior Girl Scouts, who are in the 9-to-11-year-old age range. Topics covered include "personal information and digital footprint, online safety, privacy and security, and cyberbullying," according to ZDNet. Girls who complete the program receive patches for their uniforms.

HPE's Women in Cybersecurity employee resource group helped with development on a pro bono basis. The program also dovetails with the Girl Scouts' nationwide pledge to bring 2.5 million girls into the STEM career pipeline by 2025.

"Kids are becoming more mobile, networked, and connected, but this also comes with alarming risks and dangers. Making basic cybersecurity awareness at a young age is imperative, and as fundamental as safety skills in the physical world, like learning how to cross the street," said Liz Joyce, chief information security officer at HPE, in a public statement. "As someone who tackles cyber risks and crime by day and goes home to a young daughter at night, I know just how critical this education is. Through this collaboration, we hope to arm Girl Scouts with the cybersecurity literacy and knowledge they need to be savvy, secure and safe online, and to empower them to be good digital citizens."

Screenshot from Cyber Squad via HPE

The game, called Cyber Squad, was built by Romero Games for HPE. Now playable via web interface, there are plans to launch it for mobile and desktop platforms later this year.

"As a mom and a one-time Girl Scout, this game is so important for issues young women face online today," said Brenda Romero, CEO of Romero Games, in a statement to VentureBeat. "During development, we worked with my 17-year-old daughter Maezza to write the narrative, making sure the situations, communication, and issues facing girls were present in the game. For Maezza, having a chance to develop a game about important issues that young women face was a tremendous honor."