Introduction
Welcome to the virtual outreach unit on Cyber Security from The U.S. Space and Rocket Center! We would like to thank the Northrop Grumman Foundation for their generosity in sponsoring the development of this unit. In this module you will find many resources that will help you provide an exciting and educational experience for your students. From introductory concepts, to career connections, in addition to activities and lesson plans, we hope you find everything you need for a successful teaching experience. Please see below for a detailed listing of the unit:
- Pre-Activity Resources – This document provides links to articles and videos that provide introductory information about cyber; how it works and why we need it.
- Interview with a Cyber Security Analyst – This video highlights the career and educational experiences of a senior analyst who works with the space/defense industry in Huntsville Alabama.
- Activity – This document provides background information and the history of encoding and decoding messages. In addition, it contains an activity on three ways to decrypt messages. There is also a video that demonstrates the activity.
- Continue Learning – This document includes links to help continue engagement. The links include videos, and articles, as well as additional activities.
Pre-Activity Resources
Cyber Security Crash Course (CrashCourse)
What is Encryption (Mashable)
Cryptography Crash Course (CrashCourse)
Subject Matter Expert
Activity
People have been sending secret messages since the beginning of written messages. Cryptography literally means ‘secret writing’ and is the word we use for methods used to create secret messages. From the very beginning simple substitution ciphers were used to encrypt messages before they were sent. These substitutions depended on the receiver of the message having a key to tell them what the substitutions were so that they could decrypt the messages upon arrival. Download "Cyber Security" activity (pdf)
This curriculum is made possible by the generous support of the
Continue Learning
Hackers and Cyber Attacks (CrashCourse)