Girls Scouts Learn About Cybersecurity with MN FBI [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD -- Girl Scout troops from all over central Minnesota teamed up with the Minnesota F.B.I. to earn their cybersecurity badges in St. Cloud on Saturday.

Jill Sanborn is a special agent-in-charge with the Minneapolis F.B.I. She says the two groups have similar value systems.

You know, their mission is character, confidence, and courage for a better world, which is very similar, in my opinion, to what the F.B.I. stands for which is to protect the American people, and uphold the Constitution for a better world, for a safer America.

The day-long event was hosted by the Courtyard by Marriott downtown and featured a combination of hands-on and scenario-based activities.

In breakout sessions, where the scouts were divided into age groups, they had the opportunity to learn about computers, viruses, internet safety, and binary code.

Sanborn says these technology skills are important to have for several reasons.

There's a lot of danger that can make kids vulnerable on the internet today, and the more they learn about cybersecurity as well as the more they build those cyber skill sets - we need that. Every company needs that. So, science and technology and those kinds of skills will make them much more valuable in whatever they choose to do as they grow up.

The scouts and the F.B.I. say they plan on holding another, similar event again in September.