About the Guidelines
The Cybersecurity Curriculum Guidelines challenge students to explore the principles that keep our digital world secure. Through real-world problems and solutions, they’ll confront the complexity of global systems, think like both defenders and adversaries, and grapple with the ethical questions at the core of cybersecurity in a connected society.
Why These Guidelines Matter
As society grows increasingly dependent on networks, software, and the data they carry, the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals has never been greater—yet the talent gap remains wide. These Guidelines aim to inspire educators, curriculum providers, and industry to create engaging high school programs that spark interest in cybersecurity careers while fostering a mindset that benefits any profession. Students will learn to think like adversaries, protect critical infrastructure, and safeguard personal data.
While rooted in computer science, the Guidelines define cybersecurity as a distinct, multidisciplinary field that blends technical skills with insights from the social sciences. This approach helps students understand the societal impact of technology, anticipate threats, and respond effectively.
Designed for learners from diverse backgrounds, the curriculum encourages curiosity, problem-solving, and broad engagement—exposing students to the many paths within the cybersecurity field and the vital role they can play in our connected world.
What's included
Eight Core Big Ideas
A comprehensive framework covering ethics, trust, connectivity, data security, system security, adversarial thinking, risk, and societal implications.
Essential Questions & Learning Objectives
Guiding prompts and measurable goals to help educators shape engaging, outcomes-driven lessons.
Enduring Understandings
Key concepts students should retain long after the course ends, forming the backbone of a cybersecurity mindset.
Glossary of Terms
A ready-to-use reference for students and teachers, clarifying technical language and concepts throughout the curriculum.
About the development team
The Cybersecurity Curriculum Guidelines were created by a team of educators, researchers, and industry leaders with deep expertise in teaching, technology, and national security. Together, they bring decades of experience spanning K-12 instruction, university research, government programs, and curriculum design—uniting a shared mission to inspire the next generation of cyber thinkers and professionals.
The Development Team
The Cybersecurity Curriculum Guidelines were created by a team of educators, researchers, and industry leaders with deep expertise in teaching, technology, and national security. Together, they bring decades of experience spanning K-12 instruction, university research, government programs, and curriculum design—uniting a shared mission to inspire the next generation of cyber thinkers and professionals.
Dr. Melissa Dark
Dr. Melissa Dark began her career in cybersecurity education as a Professor at Purdue University. She has led a number of innovative, national projects in cybersecurity education to include:
- INSuRE is a cybersecurity research collaborative using the cybersecurity student talent pool to work on cybersecurity problems supplied by federal agencies and national labs.
- Development of a concept inventory to diagnose learners’ misconceptions in secure programming.
- Cyber fMRI is investigating the use of representational fluency to develop deep conceptual understanding of complex cybersecurity topics.
- GenCyber is a program to grow the cybersecurity pipeline through summer camps across the nation for students and teachers.
- NCCP is funding 54 grants to develop core cybersecurity curriculum to be made widely available through a curriculum/learning management system to increase the quantity and quality of cybersecurity curricula.
Melissa retired from Purdue in 2019 and is now running Teach Cyber, a non-profit company dedicated to advancing cybersecurity education in the United States.
Dr. Jenny Daugherty
Dr. Jenny Daugherty is an education consultant with over 15 years of experience in K-12 STEM education. Prior to becoming a consultant, Jenny was an Associate Professor at Louisiana State University and Purdue University in Colleges of Education and Technology. Jenny earned her doctoral degree in Human Resource Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where she was awarded a doctoral fellowship with the National Center for Engineering and Technology Education. She was a co-Principal Investigator for the $2.9 million National Science Foundation funded Project Infuse, which researched engineering-infused science teacher professional development. Jenny has served as a site visitor for GenCyber since 2016.
Mark Emry
Dr. Dan Massey
Jennifer Peyrot
Jennifer Peyrot has been in education for over 10 years. She started off as a high school social studies teacher and has been working as an instructional technology coordinator since 2012. Jennifer has played a central role in several district-wide technology-driven initiatives. The experiences and training she had while serving in the U.S. Army allowed her to recognize the impact that the cybersecurity workforce shortage can have on our national security and she started getting involved in bringing cybersecurity into the K-12 setting.
- GenCyber Colorado Program Director in 2018
- GenCyber Camp participant in August 2017
- Co-facilitator of the SVVSD Computer Science Collaborative 2017 – present
- Co-facilitator of the SVVSD Blended Learning Collaborative 2016 – present
- Co-organizer and instructor at SVVSD annual Tech Camp from 2015-2018.
- Co-organizer of EdCamp Denver 2015 and EdCamp Longmont 2016.
- Instructs teachers and school site administrators on the systematic implementation of instructional technologies. 2013 – present.
- Classroom Teacher, High School Social Studies 2007-2012
- Intern, National Governors Association-Homeland Security Dept., Apr.-Jul. 2004
- Veteran of U.S. Army as a 98C, Signals Intelligence Analyst, 1997-2000
Acknowledging our Sponsors
The NCF thanks Northrop Grumman Corporation, Booz Allen Hamilton, the National Security Agency, and the Hewlett Foundation for their generous support of the Cybersecurity Curriculum Guidelines. We also recognize Lockheed Martin and Northern Trust for their past contributions to our educational programs. Their investments make it possible to deliver national K-12 guidelines that equip educators and students with the knowledge and skills essential to defending our nation’s cyber domain.