Shrewsbury Girl Scouts Launch Cybersecurity Training for Vulnerable Populations

Three members of Shrewsbury Girl Scout Troop 11087 are working toward earning a coveted Silver Award. They've created a cybersecurity education program aimed at supporting vulnerable community groups.

Keerthi Swaminathan, Bhavishka Yadanaparthi, and Vasudha Madhusudhan identified a significant gap in basic online safety knowledge among certain community members, including phishing scams targeting older adults and inappropriate online interactions with children.

To ensure their program is accurate and effective, the girls based their curriculum on the Tech CareGiver U.S. CyberPatriot program. Part of the girls' project included developing a comprehensive guide with ready-to-use materials. The three Girl Scouts hope that the program can go beyond the three of them.

"Our goal is to empower other community members, organizations, and youth groups to continue this important work," the Girl Scouts said in a statement shared with the Patch of Shrewsbury. "By creating a structured program with ready-to-use materials, we're removing barriers that might prevent others from hosting similar cybersecurity education sessions."

Their initiative has garnered support from local institutions like the Shrewsbury Senior Center and the Shrewsbury Public Library. To fund their project, Swaminathan, Yadanaparthi, and Madhusudhan plan to host a community bake sale and raffle basket contest at the Spirit of Shrewsbury Festival on Saturday, Sept. 27, aiming to raise money for continued outreach.