The teens hope to earn the prestigious Girl Scout Silver Award.
SHREWSBURY, MA — These teens in Shrewsbury are tackling online safety with a new initiative.
Three members of Shrewsbury’s Girl Scout Troop 11087 are hoping to earn the prestigious Silver Award with their project this year. Keerthi Swaminathan, Bhavishka Yadanaparthi and Vasudha Madhusudhan launched an education program to teach vulnerable populations all about cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity, which is focused on protecting computer systems and data from digital attacks, involves understanding threats, creating security measures and responding to incidents.
“We discovered that many people in our community lack basic knowledge about protecting themselves online,” the girls said. “From phishing emails targeting seniors to inappropriate online interactions with children, cybersecurity threats are real and growing.”
The students started by studying the Tech CareGiver curriculum from the US CyberPatriot program, which helped them learn about how to educate vulnerable populations about cybersecurity.
“We wanted to make sure our project would be effective and accurate,” they said.
The Girl Scouts dedicated significant time to their project by meeting multiple times a week to make presentations and plan. Their hard work paid off as both the Shrewsbury Senior Center and Shrewsbury Public Library welcomed the initiative.
A Silver Award project is meant to showcase a solution to a problem in their community. Part of this trio’s project included making a comprehensive guide with ready-to-use materials. They hope that the program can extend beyond the three of them and help the entire community.
“Our goal is to empower other community members, organizations, and youth groups to continue this important work,” they said. “By creating a structured program with ready-to-use materials, we’re removing barriers that might prevent others from hosting similar cybersecurity education sessions.”