We need some cyber warriors, and we needed them yesterday. Especially at Equifax, the agency that used to guard our credit reports. The 143 million people effected by having their personal financial data stolen, however, are only the tip of the failed cyber-spear. Innovation in medical IoT and medical wearables is dangerously vulnerable to hacking, and new biometrics are being hacked almost before they come into the marketplace. What we’re doing now is trying to plug the holes before the dam in breached. Working backward to fix a problem, however, usually only gives us a patch job that has a limited life span. What we need is innovation, creative thinking. We need the Cyber Warrior Princesses.
A generation ago, young girls between 6 and 12 were known for developing sudden, intense passions for something, usually horses. These days, horses are being replaced by video games. The education program Cyber Warrior Princesses is a school based training program that starts with video games and grows into coding and cybersecurity and computer science at university until these bright young minds save us all.
San Francisco based innovation and education group Black Girls Code is working on both diversity and STEM education. Their hackathons are becoming legendary for the cool, smart kids, and their goal of teaching one million girls to code is just the beginning of their beautiful snowball.
The Center for STEM Education for Girls recently held a think tank and conference on, among other STEM topics, ideas about collaborative partnerships between education, industry, and other stake holders.
What we have right now is a system where innovation is growing faster than a teenager’s feet, and like a teenager’s feet, parents are scrambling to buy new shoes that fit every three months. Innovation and growth are exciting, the fun part of the new world order, and cybersecurity is the dull structure, like traffic signs warning us to slow down, steep grades ahead. Cybersecurity experts find themselves in the strange position of shouting to a new coder to slow down! Put the seat belts on! One way to save us all is to let the next generation of strong, smart girls, who are learning to code and growing up very fast, think up some solutions that are as unique and smart as they are.
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