The Cybersecurity standards prepare students to understand why data and computing resources need to be protected, who might access them, and why they might do so whether intentionally malicious or not. It is important that students know how to employ basic safeguards to protect data and computing resources and how to appropriately respond if a breach occurs.

Risk is a combination of a vulnerability, the likelihood that the vulnerability will be exploited, and the severity of consequences if the vulnerability is exploited. It is important to understand why data and resources need to be protected and how they might be compromised so the correct safeguards can be put into place.

Programmers and individuals must know how to protect their data and computing resources with common safety measures. When combined, various physical, digital, and behavioral precautions can create a level of digital security.

When a security breach occurs, individuals must decide what actions to take. This takes into account what type of breach occurred and how to improve security moving forward.