The workforce gap in cybersecurity has been widely highlighted and analyzed. It is clear we do not have enough technical workers with foundational cybersecurity skills to fill the positions needed to protect businesses, government, and our collective critical infrastructure. The other undisputed challenge is that there is not enough diversity in the pipeline to solve critical cybersecurity problems from different lenses. This presentation will introduce a novel model for recruiting, educating, and retaining women in cybersecurity through the CybHER™ program in The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Dakota State University (DSU). We have found that by introducing the principles of cybersecurity to middle school girls through positive hands-on activities, more girls become engaged and will continue exploring the field in collegiate programs. The CybHER program has impacted more than 20,000 girls in over 130 events in the last seven years. To this end, enrollment data was collected for six years, and from Fall 2013 to Fall 2019, The Beacom College has seen a 595% increase in women studying in our undergraduate cybersecurity programs, which consist of computer science, cyber operations, and network and security administration.
