Evaluation of an Internet of Things Device-Based Educational Approach to Engage a More Diverse Cybersecurity Workforce

Cybersecurity education heavily utilizes competition-based approaches, such as capture-the-flag (CTF) games to support the need for a skilled cybersecurity workforce. Although CTFs expose students to cybersecurity work competencies, their competitive nature may contribute to the lack of diversity in cybersecurity programs. In response, we developed a technology-based, experiential learning approach utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) devices to educate learners about cybersecurity concepts. We evaluated the approach's effectiveness in engaging and sparking interest in a diverse sample of high school students. Our results indicated that (a) all participants reported a moderate challenge-skill balance, (b) underrepresented minorities (URMs) reported significantly higher engagement than non-URMs, and (c) significantly more female students compared to male students reported increased levels of intent to pursue cybersecurity after participating in the learning activity. We present the approach, methods, results, implications, and recommendations for the use of IoT devices in cybersecurity education to train a more diverse workforce.