Let's be realistic here. Ordinary K-12 educators don't know what
"cybersecurity" is and could probably care less about incorporating it
into their lesson plans. Yet, teaching cybersecurity is a critical
national priority. So, this book aims to cut through the usual
roadblocks of confusing technical jargon and industry stovepipes and
give you, the classroom teacher, a unified understanding of what must be
taught. That advice is based on a single authoritative definition of the
field. In 2017, the three societies that write the standards for
computing, software engineering, and information systems came together
to define a single model of the field of cybersecurity. It is based on
eight building blocks. That definition is presented here. However, we
also understand that secondary school teachers are not experts in arcane
subjects like software, component, human, or societal security.
Therefore, this book explains cybersecurity through a simple story
rather than diving into execution details. Tom, a high school teacher,
and Lucy, a middle school teacher, are tasked by their district to
develop a cybersecurity course for students in their respective schools.
They are aided in this by "the Doc," an odd fellow but an expert in the
field. Together they work their way through the content of each topic
area, helping each other to understand what the student at each level in
the educational process has to learn. The explanations are simple, easy
to understand, and geared toward the teaching aspect rather than the
actual performance of cybersecurity work. Each chapter is a
self-contained explanation of the cybersecurity content in that area
geared to teaching both middle and high school audiences. The eight
component areas are standalone in that they can be taught separately.
But the real value lies in the comprehensive but easy-to-understand
picture that the reader will get of a complicated field.
