Scientists get some of their best ideas from biology. Whether that be using bacteria to help make food or gene editing to cure disease, biotechnology uses the tools in biology to make amazing technology. This resource is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

With digitization, we see biosecurity, cybersecurity, and physical security begin to overlap. This overlap started a new discipline, cyberbiosecurity. This resource is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

Data makes the world go around! As we use more technology, more data is being created, recorded, and used. The next task is understanding what it all means!This resource is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

Farming is not just a farmer driving a tractor anymore. Sometimes the tractor drives itself! Agriculture is very technological and part of that effort is precision agriculture. Learn about how farmers are using technology to optimize their farms. This resource is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

As the world gets more digital, the world will need more sensors. A sensor is something that records the environment around it. Sensors can measure temperature, light, or sound among other things. Where can you find a sensor?  This resource is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

There were many black women who worked as code breakers at Arlington Hall during World War II, including Elsie Scott, Sue Bailey Thurman, and Genevieve Collins. These women faced significant challenges and discrimination due to their race and gender, but they made significant contributions to the war effort through their work as code breakers.

This is game designed on Baamboozle.com that is based on the Computer Science standard 7.6 in Cybersecurity where users must answer questions to distinguish the difference between a physical and a digital security measures.

Students will examine the history and culture of the Choctaw Native Americans, as well as the story of the Code Talkers in WW1, in order to memorialize one of the Choctaw Code Talkers. 

The student or class will watch a video clip about spies and secret codes from the past.  Next students will be able to use a Pigpen cipher to crack a secret message of their own.  Teachers can edit the message to fit their needs and make adjustments as desired.  This is one mini lesson out of a series of five.

The student or class will watch a video clip about how to decode a Vigenère Square Cipher.Next students will be able to use the cipher to crack a secret message of their own (teacher provided messages in a hat (not inlcuded)).  One student chooses the word or phrase, the teacher puts the key (word) on the board, that same student will encrypt the message and send it to their partner.  The partner with use the same key word to return the text to plain text revealing the message and send their guess back to their partner. Teachers can edit the message to fit their needs and make adjustments as desired.  This is one mini lesson out of a series of five (part 2) and can be used alone, or with other lessons in the series. Vigenère Square Ciphefrom the past.  Next students will be able to use a Pigpen cipher to crack a secret message of their own.  Teachers can edit the message to fit their needs and make adjustments as desired.  This is one mini lesson out of a series of five. Vigenère Square Ciphe

The student or class will watch a video clip about ciphers, specifically Caesar Ciphers.  Next students will learn more about encryption and decryption through the use of "keys".  Lastly, students will be introduced to the career path choices as a Cyber-security analyst. This is one lesson out of a series of five, and can be used alone, or with the some or all of the other four lessons.

Women code-breakers changed the course of WWII by cracking Japanese codes that revealed the movements of people and supplies in the Pacific Islands. In this lesson, students will learn how specific information discovered led to a turning point when cryptographers were able to pinpoint the plans of the Pearl Harbor Attack’s “architect”, Admiral Yamomoto.Students will examine videos and articles to find out more about this episode in history. In pairs or small groups, they’ll look at the US Post Office’s newly revealed stamp commemorating it. They’ll identify what they think are the pros and cons of the stamp and then design their own. 

The lessons provided are presented by Scholastic and sponsored by Norton Lifelock.
All rights reserved by Scholastic.
Below is an overview of the three lessons provided.
The lessons do not coincide with one another.
The teacher can choose to use all three or select the best option for the classroom needs.

The PDF Links includes:
Lesson 1: Understanding Online Safety (45 minutes)
- Students will analyze text, citing evidence and summarizing central ideas. They will make inferences to create their own cybersecurity protection plan.
- Students will use the provided copy of #Cybersmarts student magazine to create their personalized online protection plan.

Lesson 2: Identifying Preventive Technologies (45 minutes + presentation time)
- Students will conduct research on preventive technologies built and used by professionals in the cybersecurity field (e.g., firewalls, ad blocker apps, antivirus software, voice recognition software, virtual private network (VPN), etc.).
- Students will then prepare a presentation - the given choices are a skit or interview. Presentation options can be easily adapted to best fit your classroom needs.
- Research planning/ gathering page is provided.

Lesson 3: Making Online Profiles More Secure (2 part lesson - 90 minutes total)
- Students will use analytical and reasoning skills to identify areas of vulnerability in an online profile and come up with strategies for how to make them more secure by applying information from a text.
- First, students will analyze their own personal profiles (if applicable). Then, they will analyze a provided “profile” to identify security holes. Last, discuss the answers and reasonings as a class.
*This lesson can be shortened to fit into one class period.
*(Optional) An extension idea is provided. It includes information from all lessons. Students will use what they have learned to create their own cybersecurity device.

Vocabulary posters for the Cybersecurity strand for Grade 7. Words included are from the 2017 Computer Science Curriculum Framework.

This activity will serve as a warm-up and review for the different impacts of cybersecurity incidents on both businesses and individuals.

American performer Josephine Baker used her star-status access to spy for the Allies in WWII and convey information to the Allies by using invisible ink on her sheet music. We’ll look at a few methods that can be used to hide messages “in plain sight”?

During WWII the Marines enlisted Navajo code talkers to send messages. The Navajo language is not written down and is very difficult for non-native speakers to speak and understand. The Marines started with 29 Navajo men for this project. Their code became unbreakable and fast. They could decode 3 lines of English in 20 seconds versus the normal 30 minutes.In this lesson students will hear audio of spoken Navajo language. They will make predictions on what language they think is being spoken. After learning the language they will research the Navajo code breakers. Students will then use the Navajo dictionary to practice creating and deciphering messages. Students will then be able to make connections to cybersecurity. 

In this first part of a three part series, students will explore the ideas around Brute Force algorithm/programs to further understand the importance of password development, use, safety, and safekeeping while completing several unplugged activities over the course of three class periods (approximately 30-45 minutes each).  These activites can be completed seperately with a few adjustments as well.  Part 1 introduces Brute Force using a playing cards demonstration to sort as desired.  Part 2 introduces Decrease (or Divide) and Conquer to sort Quadrilaterals from Non-Quadrilateral shapes.  Part 3 uses the methods of both Brute Force and Divide and Conquer algorithms to decrypt (unscramble) passwords using commonly recognizable number patterns and words (completed on paper, or unplugged).  These activitess are intended for upper middle school students, but could also be adjusted for lower level highschool or simplified/adjusted for other ages as well with the editable copies provided.

In this second part of a three part series, students will explore the ideas around Decrease, or Divide, and Conquer algorithm/programs to further understand the importance of password development, use, safety, and safekeeping by completing several unplugged activities over the course of three class periods (approximately 30-45 minutes each).  These activites can be completed seperately (stand-alone) with a few adjustments as well. Part 1 introduces Brute Force using a playing cards demonstration to sort as desired.  Part 2 introduces Decrease (or Divide) and Conquer to sort Quadrilaterals from Non-Quadrilateral shapes.  Part 3 uses the methods of both Brute Force and Divide and Conquer algorithms to decrypt (unscramble) passwords using commonly recognizable number patterns and words (completed on paper, or unplugged).  These activitess are intended for upper middle school students, but could also be adjusted for lower level highschool or simplified/adjusted for other ages as well with the editable copies provided.