A bipartisan group of Congress members recently sent a public letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis urging him to direct military departments to incorporate cybersecurity education into the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) curricula for high school students.
The letter was signed by U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), U.S. Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA).
JROTC programs currently involve a variety of science, technology, math, and engineering courses, however, cybersecurity is not part of the required curricula. In some instances, cybersecurity is incorporated into other military-related youth programs, such as the U.S. Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education Program.
“The United States currently suffers from a shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals needed to defend the nation’s economic and national security,” the letter said. “Given the need to inspire young people to pursue cybersecurity careers, we believe that the addition of cybersecurity to the JROTC curricula would boost student interest in this critical field.”
The members cited a recommendation from the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity final report, which stated that cybersecurity awareness messages should be developed on children as early as preschool and throughout elementary school and that the effort would also stimulate exploration of cybersecurity careers in middle school and enable preparedness for cybersecurity careers in high school.
The letter comes in the wake of an increasing number of reported high-profile cyberattacks on various parts of U.S. infrastructure, including state election systems during the 2016 presidential election cycle and multiple nuclear facilities. An investigation into the alleged attacks remains ongoing.