Virginia Puts State Support Behind School Cyber Security Program

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 12/08/09

The Virginia Department of Education and the state office of the Attorney General have put their support behind a program to bring cyber security experts into classrooms. The (ISC)² Safe and Secure Online program is intended to teach students about protecting themselves online.

(ISC)² certified members visit schools to deliver the interactive Safe and Secure Online presentation designed for children ages 11 through 14. The program teaches students about the perceived "dangers" of social networking, cyberbullying, viral e-mails, spam, and identity theft, among other topics. The content used for the training was developed, the organization said, by former school teachers. The program is offered to all United States schools at no cost. (ISC)² is an organization that offers training and certification to cyber security professionals.

The Safe and Secure Online program officially kicked off in Virginia at Swanson Middle School in Arlington, where security speaker Dan VanBelleghem of NCI Information Systems delivered a one-hour cyber security presentation and led a discussion with 15 middle school children. Then, during lunch, VanBelleghem delivered another hour-long presentation to teachers.

"We were very happy with the presentation by the cyber security expert, especially after seeing how the students were so engaged in the discussion," said Principal Chrystal Forrester. "The safety of our children is our first concern, and teaching them how to protect themselves online is an integral part of those efforts."

"Virginia has made great strides in bringing cyber safety education to children, but we realize there is still much work to be done," said Gene Fishel, chief of the Computer Crime Section in the Virginia Attorney General's Office. "The Safe and Secure Online program is unique in that it goes beyond curriculum and brings top security experts from business and government into schools to talk directly to kids about responsible computing and personal safety."

The program, announced in October 2009, currently has 600 volunteers. Virginia is the first state to express its support for the initiative.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • illustration of a human head with a glowing neural network in the brain, connected to tech icons on a cool blue-gray background

    Meta Introduces Stand-Alone AI App

    Meta Platforms has launched a stand-alone artificial intelligence app built on its proprietary Llama 4 model, intensifying the competitive race in generative AI alongside OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

  • laptop screen with a video play icon, surrounded by parts of notebooks, pens, and a water bottle on a student desk

    Studyfetch AI Tool Generates Video Explanations Based on Course Materials

    AI-powered studying and learning platform Studyfetch has introduced Imagine Explainers, a new video creator that utilizes artificial intelligence to generate 10- to 60-minute explainer videos for any topic.

  • interconnected geometric human figures forming a network

    CoSN: School Staffing Is the Top Hurdle to K-12 Innovation

    Hiring and keeping educators and IT staff remains the top challenge for K-12 education in 2025, according to the latest Driving K-12 Innovation Report from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).

  • glowing digital brain made of blue circuitry hovers above multiple stylized clouds of interconnected network nodes against a dark, futuristic background

    Report: 85% of Organizations Are Leveraging AI

    Eighty-five percent of organizations today are utilizing some form of AI, according to the latest State of AI in the Cloud 2025 report from Wiz. While AI's role in innovation and disruption continues to expand, security vulnerabilities and governance challenges remain pressing concerns.