4.25. Unlocking national cybersecurity capacity: a systems approach to building a comprehensive cybersecurity education ecosystem

OAS / ITU

National efforts to build resilience against the growing range of digital risks and threats must include the development of the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to strengthen the existing cybersecurity workforce, as well as ensuring a minimum level of knowledge and awareness across the entire workforce and society.  Countries and regional organizations are increasingly investing in the development of cybersecurity education programs, courses, and other initiatives, but these often lack an overarching strategy to incorporate cybersecurity components across the entire education system and maximize limited resources.  Applying a holistic framework and systems approach to identify specific gaps and build capacity in a given national cybersecurity education ecosystem can guide policy makers and practitioners in optimizing education and training interventions and inform the development of a comprehensive national cybersecurity education strategy.

• How can policy makers and practitioners apply a systems approach to inform their cybersecurity education capacity building?
• What other tools and resources [global public goods] exist to assist countries with competing development priorities and limited resources in identifying and responding to key challenges in building national cybersecurity education capacity?
• How can the capacity building community work together to optimize cybersecurity education investments to ensure they are both complementary to existing initiatives and also compatible with the capacity of national contexts?