Should cybersecurity be introduced as a subject to Class 9th and 10th students?

Here are some reasons to include cybersecurity in the syllabus for students of classes 9th and 10th.

The internet has become the necessity of daily life in this era and the education sector is not falling behind in leveraging its benefits. Everyday is getting more digitalised than the previous day. With the increasing digitalisation, data is getting much valuable these days.

Gone are the days when there would be news of thieves, dacoits etc. But newspapers nowadays are loaded with news of cyberattacks. Every department, sector, industry has got valuable data – the data which is very much precious to the cybercriminals.

But the rise of cyber criminals compels every sector to tighten their security. But the scene of cybersecurity scenario is not well developed till today. So,there is a huge scope in the cybersecurity field in the near future.

Learning about cybersecurity is important for every age and students in 9th and 10th grade need more knowledge of it. Teenagers are more prone to be a victim of cyber-attacks which may pose a negative effect on their brain and overall mental health. There may be different degrees of cyber-attacks that students may face: Distributed Denial-of-Service, IoT vulnerabilities, data manipulation, and more.

WHY SHOULD THERE BE EDUCATION ON CYBERSECURITY?

Cybersecurity offers a defensive mechanism for internet-enabled devices from cyber hackers. This type of security is a prerequisite for any organisation which runs digitally. Several reasons such as lack of technical knowledge, increased internet usage, and lack of awareness of cyber-attacks are contributing to the recent rise of cybercrime.
Online thieves don’t spare the education sector and always make a way to steal and manipulate information. They will not only hatch malicious activities on the educational portals but also infuse some unwanted malware that may leak any private information.
So, knowing about cybersecurity is crucial for students and teachers. This will help students stay safe while developing their skills without compromising any confidential information.

Cybersecurity is also important for the mental peace of students. Random breaches of data and unwanted system dysfunction will create disturbance in the minds of students.

So what are the benefits of introducing cybersecurity as a subject?

1.CYBER SECURITY JOBS PROVIDE GREAT CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Cybersecurity has transformed to be an evergreen industry and proved to serve the greater good of aspiring students. Many tech-based companies, like Dell, Cognizant, InfoTech, Accenture, etc have considerable demand for cyber security experts.

Aspiring students who have developed technical skills in cyber security will get a chance to work in top-notch organisations. In addition, national crime agencies, security departments, and police force departments will have vacancies for cyber security experts.

2. JOBS IN CYBER SECURITY OFFERS LUCRATIVE SALARIES

Jobs in cyber security provide high salaries and, as per the designations and job roles, a professional will likely get hikes. We are being realistic here. Don’t stay with “Money don’t bring happiness”. Every online business has to safeguard its data and appoint security specialists, spending lots of money.

Rising cyber-attacks in almost every industry make every organisation take this very seriously. That is why government and private agencies are willing to provide training and high-earning opportunities.

At present, there is an annual shortage of 39,000 information security analysts, according to Cyberseek, a globally recognized interactive career pathway. Hence, there is an exigency for skilled professionals for cyber security.

3. CHANCES TO INCREASE PERSONAL GROWTH
   Learning a new skill will increase one’s mental dimension. Acquiring knowledge of cyber security will not only enrich a person with valuable information but also secure the online environment in a better way.

Each day will be full of new challenges and one will have scope to expand one’s skills, interpersonal and analytical skills. Complex technical problems will widen one’s mind’s sharpness and help one to grow overall.

Learning a new skill ain’t gonna hurt anyone. Even if it doesn’t benefit you at the present moment, it will benefit you in the future . The world is full of doctors,engineers, lawyers, professors,analysts etc. Take a different career path and save yourself from falling into the common career crowd.