Key concepts
The research area publishes peer-reviewed papers and plain-language outputs. Topics include what children and parents understand about online risk and how young people create and manage passwords.
How it is organized
- Influences on youth online privacy and security (papers, video, blog)
- Youth and parent passwords (papers, presentation, blog, video)
What a school district should take from it
- Student-facing guidance works better when it reflects how children actually think about risk.
- Family outreach is part of protecting student accounts.
How to use it in your district
- Share the parent videos and posts in family newsletters.
- Use the findings to shape student password and account guidance.
- Point curriculum staff to the research when updating digital citizenship lessons.
Common misconceptions
- This is a formal NIST guideline.
- It is research, published as papers and outreach materials, not a standard.
Rubric categories and K12 Cyber Forward tools
Cybersecurity Rubric 2.0 categories
- PR.ATAwareness & Training
Tools in the program portal
- Two-minute lessonsFree micro-lessons for staff and families
Related publications
- SP 800-50 Rev. 1Awareness and training program
Citation and source
Youth security and privacy research (web), Human-Centered Cybersecurity: Youth Security and Privacy. National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/human-centered-cybersecurity/research-areas/youth-security.
Topics: Awareness and training, Privacy and student data. This summary was written by the K12 Cyber Forward program team in its own words. NIST is not affiliated with the program and has not reviewed it. The official publication on csrc.nist.gov controls.