"CISA-Funded Project Enables Students With Disabilities to Learn Cybersecurity"
Cybersecurity workforce development organization CYBER.ORG recently announced the launch of Project Access, a national effort to provide cybersecurity education to blind and visually impaired students. The new project is funded by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program (CETAP) grant and will include a series of summer camps meant to introduce students aged 13 to 21 to key cybersecurity topics and help them develop skills that will allow them to pursue potential careers in the industry. The program was first tried out in 2017 in collaboration with Virginia’s Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) to create a cybersecurity curriculum for the blind and vision impaired. Ninety-four percent of the students participating in Virginia’s DBVI programming have shown interest in pursuing cybersecurity education and careers. It was noted that nonvisual techniques will be used with students with no prior computer or technology experience, while those with secondary disabilities will have access to hands-on learning opportunities and STEM career exploration.