Digital Badges to Enhance Skills and Preparation for a Career in Cyber Security

It is well known that cybersecurity will remain an important and demanding skill for the Cybersecurity workforce in the USA. However, there is currently a shortage of workers with this unique skill set. Cybersecurity skills require not only being proficient in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), but also being able to apply skills to real world problems. Furthermore, the inclusion of minorities and females in cybersecurity careers is not significant. In order to stimulate prospective students to become more interested in cybersecurity careers, we propose the concept of digital-badge based learning.