Engaging learners in cybersecurity careers

Abstract

Educators and sponsors endorse competitions as a strong, positive influence on career choice. However, empirical studies of cybersecurity competitions are lacking, and evidence from computer science and mathematics competitions has been mixed. Here we report initial results from an ongoing study of the National Cyber League to provide a glimpse of the role of competitions in fostering cybersecurity career engagement. Preliminary results suggest that cyber competitions attract experienced individuals who will remain in the profession for the long-term, but future research is needed to understand how cyber competitions may engage women and those new to the field.

A Vignette-based Method for Improving Cybersecurity Talent Management through Cyber Defense Competition Design

“…In many cases, experts use an incident label to quickly convey a complex and diverse set of conditions and events in a simple, terse manner, especially when conversing with peers [43]. Consequently, we prefer the term vignette because it signifies the need to extract the whole story, including several scenarios or differing perspectives of a critical incident [44], [45]. These stories are frequently used by experts to convert tacit into explicit knowledge for communicating an event to less experienced people [46], [47].…”

Challenges Arising from Prerequisite Testing in Cybersecurity Games

“…Studies con rm multiple bene ts of cybersecurity games [16,17,21]. ey can inspire interest in computer security and motivate participants to explore the eld further.…”

“…Competitions and games of various di culty levels and focus are spreading widely, from informal online hacking communities to universities and professional security conferences. e number of participants in cybersecurity games is growing exponentially [17]. At the same time, several authors argue that although high-quality games are available, they o er li le educational value to learners [16,20].…”

“…Even worse, some students' interest and motivation may diminish a er an unsuccessful a empt [16]. Research suggests that games and contests are e ective only for already skilled players, whose skills "closely match those required by the competition" [17].…”

Experiential Research Education: A Report on the First Year of an NSF-sponsored Cyber-physical System Cybersecurity Research Experience for Undergraduates Program

“…Studies have considered the use of puzzles [11] and challenges [12] to aid learning. Significant interest has been paid to competitions [13]- [16] and the students that participate in them [17]. A limited amount of prior work [18] has also been conducted related to undergraduate research activities in cybersecurity and the benefits they produce.…”