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Cyber Security Industry Alliance Calls for a National K-12 Cyber Awareness Program A Focused, Organized National Effort is Needed to Teach Children Cyber Security, Cyber Ethics and Cyber Safety WASHINGTON, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA), the only public policy and advocacy group dedicated exclusively to cyber security, today released a report, "Teaching Children Cyber Security and Ethics," which calls for the creation of a national-level program for teaching children K-12 cyber security, ethics and safety. The report discusses the current state of cyber awareness education for children K-12 by framing key problems, describing elements of cyber awareness and providing snapshots of typical education programs for cyber security, cyber ethics and cyber safety. "Cyber awareness work is happening today in many organizations in the public and private sectors, as well as non profits," said Paul Kurtz, Executive Director of CSIA. "The problem is that there is no national coordination of these programs and no clear leader in this area, leaving parents and teachers confused about where to turn to get information. A coordinated, national-level cyber awareness program is needed to help bring more effective cyber security, ethics and safety education to our nation's children, and improve the general state of cyber security in the United States." CSIA's report addresses several other key problems regarding the current state of cyber awareness and education including: * There are numerous cyber awareness Web sites, which offer duplicating content and direction, which causes confusion for those looking for information. Parents, teachers and children need one source to turn to for their cyber awareness needs that they know and trust. * The materials designed to teach children about cyber security need to be as dynamic as the multimedia currently holding our children's attention, such as slick computer games. Software developers, particularly in the video gaming industry, need to incorporate cyber education tools that are visually appealing into the top-grade multimedia programs they design. * Currently, there is no coordinated effort for funding for cyber security, ethics and safety education. CSIA believes that national coordination of funding would help pool resources and dramatically boost the ability to produce quality curricula and multimedia required for training children. "Children today must be aware of the cyber threats that exist, which may cause inadvertent damage to their own PCs and other electronic devices or reveal sensitive, personal information," added Kurtz. "Congress and the Administration have committed some resources already to cyber safety, but we believe it is equally important to focus on cyber security and ethics." CSIA urges members of Congress and the Administration to consider the following policy recommendations for teaching cyber security and ethics to children K-12: * Create a national Cyber Awareness Program: Initiate a national-level program for teaching children K-12 cyber security, ethics and safety, coordinated by the Administration, in particular, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Education (DOE). The Cyber Awareness Program (CAP) should leverage a partnership between teachers and parents, and funding sources in the public and private sectors, with leadership from DHS. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) could provide an entry point for coordinating this effort, in conjunction with the DHS. * Coordinate CAP content on web sites: The Cyber Awareness Program should simplify the process of finding resources by teachers and parents. CSIA recommends use of a few branded Web sites to coordinate CAP content presentation and use, such as http://www.staysafeonline.info/, the official Web site of the NCSA. * Ensure production and use of top-grade multimedia: A priority for coordinated funding should be the creation, production and use of top- grade multimedia. For example, gaming technologies that teach cyber security and ethics would be extremely powerful. The Administration and Congress should encourage gaming companies to provide programs as a public service to schools. * Coordinate public and private funding for CAP: The Cyber Awareness Program should be a public / private partnership with focused national oversight. Coordinated funding sources should include federal and state governments, private and public corporations, charitable foundations, and parents. CSIA and its members fund several initiatives for teaching cyber security, ethics and safety. To obtain a copy of CSIA's report, "Teaching Children Cyber Security and Ethics," please visit: http://www.csialliance.org/. About the Cyber Security Industry Alliance CSIA is the only advocacy group dedicated exclusively to enhancing global cyber security through public policy, education, awareness and technology. The organization is led by CEOs from the world's top security providers, who offer the technical expertise, depth and focus to encourage a better understanding of cyber security issues. It is the belief of the CSIA that a comprehensive approach to ensuring the security, integrity and availability of global information systems is fundamental to national and economic stability. To learn more about the CSIA, please visit our Web site at http://www.csialliance.org/ or call +1-703-894-2742. Members of the CSIA include BindView Corp. (NASDAQ:BVEW); Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP); Citadel Security Software Inc. (NASDAQ:CDSS); Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS); Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE:CA); Entrust, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTU); Internet Security Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ISSX); iPass Inc. (NASDAQ:IPAS); Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:JNPR); McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE); PGP Corporation; Qualys, Inc.; RSA Security Inc. (NASDAQ:RSAS); Secure Computing Corporation (NASDAQ:SCUR), Surety, Inc.; Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) and TechGuard Security, LLC. DATASOURCE: Cyber Security Industry Alliance CONTACT: Stacy Simpson of Merritt Group, +1-703-390-1528, , for CSIA; or Laura Brown, Director of Education & Awareness of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, +1-703-894-1262, Web site: http://www.csialliance.org/ http://www.staysafeonline.info/

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