Empowering Neurodivergent Students through Extended Reality/Virtual Reality, Game-Based Learning to Increase Cybersecurity Literacy and Career Readiness

Abstract

Recent cyberattacks have caused the U.S. government to prioritize cybersecurity. A 2025 White House press release documents that the U.S. economy annually endures billions of dollars in losses to cyber-enabled fraud and cybercrime. Cyberattacks are increasing, so the need for cybersecurity workers is high. Cyberseek and the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) in the United States report more than 400,000 job vacancies in the cybersecurity field. The 2025 Gartner CIO Talent Planning Survey surveyed 487 IT leaders, revealing that 81% of IT leaders anticipate a surge in the demand for cybersecurity skills over the next three years. The shortage of cybersecurity workers and the increasing skills gap present significant employment opportunities for individuals with neurological differences, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), among others. Between 2011 and 2021, the National Science Foundation (NSF) reported that 34.9 million Americans worked in STEM fields. Among these 34.9 million individuals, only one million have disabilities (both physical and mental conditions). Currently, there is limited quantitative data available to determine the specific STEM careers pursued by individuals with disabilities. Despite this, qualitative research and interviews suggest a strong correlation between computer-related fields, such as cybersecurity, and success among the neurodivergent population. Individuals with neurological differences, often referred to as “neurodivergent,” a term coined by Kassiane Asasumasu in 2000, or “neurodiverse,” a term coined by Judy Singer in the late 1990s, possess specific skills to fill cybersecurity roles.

The most in-demand cybersecurity skills in the current market are identifying hidden relationships and patterns, mitigating cognitive biases, problem-solving, and more. Sophos, a well-known security solutions vendor, reports that 54% of companies say their IT department cannot handle sophisticated methods, such as ransomware, phishing, and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks by cybercriminals. In its latest Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2), the world’s largest IT security organization, states that 70% of cybersecurity professionals report that their organizations are understaffed. There is a lack of technological pedagogical tools for this talent pool, such as XR/VR and GBL. The objective of this study is to design and develop Immersive Cybersecurity Experiences (ICE), a Virtual Reality and Game-based learning framework, to improve the cybersecurity literacy of the neurodivergent audience for cybersecurity career readiness. By involving the neurodivergent population in the design process of this framework, we can gain insights on how to keep them engaged and motivated and design to accommodate their learning preferences.