Starting in 2018, Girl Scouts in the United States will be able to earn badges in cybersecurity to sew on their signature vests. Eighteen new badges, which will span skills that can be picked up by the Girl Scout USA’s K-12 membership, will be introduced in September of 2018, a press release announced earlier this month.
While the Girl Scouts already have badges for all manner of personal achievements—gaining money management skills, hiking, making pots, and dancing—the new badges will offer primers in online privacy and Internet infrastructure. Broadly reports that Daisies (members in kindergarten and first grade) will be able to earn badges for learning about online safety and data privacy. Older members—Brownies, Cadettes, Juniors, Seniors, and Ambassadors—will have access to badges honoring the completion of education in firewalls, coding, and ethical hacking (called “white hat hacking” in Internet slang).
“At Girl Scouts of the USA, we recognize that in our increasingly tech-driven world, future generations must possess the skills to navigate the complexities and inherent challenges of the cyber realm,” Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo said in a press release.
The new badges are the result of a partnership between the girls-empowerment organization and Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity company. Women hold just 11 percent of cybersecurity jobs globally, the press release noted.
