2026 Virginia Cybersecurity Education Conference

Students are already making cybersecurity decisions every day, whether they realize it or not. They are choosing what to share, who to trust, which links to click, what permissions to allow, and how much of their location, identity, and attention to give away through the apps they use constantly. This 90-minute workshop reframes threat modeling as a practical life skill by using familiar consumer apps such as TikTok, messaging platforms, dating apps, delivery services, payment apps, gaming accounts, school portals, and AI tools.

Participants will work through lightweight, student-friendly threat modeling activities focused on realistic scenarios involving fake accounts, geolocation leakage, account takeover, image misuse, social engineering, data collection, and cross-platform manipulation. The goal is to make cybersecurity feel relevant, human, and immediately usable. Attendees will leave with adaptable classroom activities, discussion prompts, and a framework for helping students think more critically about digital risk in the spaces they already occupy.