Frequently asked questions
The questions students, parents, and teachers actually ask us. If yours is not here, send it over and we will answer it — and probably add it.
The basics
- Is CyberAcad really free?
- Yes, completely and permanently. There is no paid tier, no trial, and no upsell. CyberAcad is funded by donations and grants, not by student fees, and that is a deliberate structural choice rather than a launch promotion.
- Who is it for?
- Primarily middle and high school students aged 13 and up, including CyberPatriot and CTF teams. No prior experience is required, because the curriculum starts from the beginning. Any beginner is welcome regardless of background.
- Do I need special hardware or software?
- No. Everything runs in a standard web browser, including the Linux terminals and the network simulator. A school Chromebook is enough. There is nothing to install and no lab hardware to buy.
- How long does a course take?
- Each course lists its unit and lesson count on its own page. Lessons are self-paced and most take twenty minutes to an hour. Students who work through a track weekly in a club setting typically finish one over a term.
Age, safety, and accounts
- What is the minimum age?
- You must be at least 13 to create an account. If you are under 18, our terms require that a parent or guardian has reviewed and agreed to them on your behalf. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13, and we delete accounts we learn belong to younger children.
- What data do you collect about students?
- A username, an email address, a hashed password, and progress through the platform — lessons completed, challenges solved, certificates earned. We never collect payment details, because nothing costs money. We do not sell or share personal data. The full detail is in our privacy policy.
- Is it safe to teach students how attacks work?
- This is the same reasoning behind CyberPatriot, every university security programme, and the profession itself: you cannot defend a system you do not understand. All practical work happens inside sandboxed environments we operate, isolated per student. Our terms prohibit using the platform to attack anything outside it, and accounts that try are removed.
Schools and clubs
- How can teachers use CyberAcad in a classroom or club?
- Request a class code and your students enrol into a shared course roster you can monitor. There is no cost, no licence to negotiate, and no purchase order to raise. You do not need to know the material yourself — the lessons teach it.
- Do you work with CyberPatriot teams?
- Yes. Two dedicated tracks cover hardening the Linux image and the Windows image, written by competitors who reached Platinum level. Coaches usually pair them with the capture-the-flag library for practice between rounds. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Air & Space Forces Association, which runs CyberPatriot.
- What does the school have to provide?
- Devices with a modern browser and an ordinary internet connection. No inbound ports, no VPN, and no special firewall rules. Everything reaches us over standard HTTPS.
Certificates and credibility
- Are the certificates accredited?
- No, and we will not pretend otherwise. A CyberAcad certificate records that a student completed specific coursework on our platform, and it carries a public verification link so anyone can check it is genuine. It is evidence of work done, not a professional qualification or academic credit.
- Are you a registered nonprofit?
- Yes. CyberAcad is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 41-5007585. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
- How is CyberAcad funded?
- Through individual donations and grants. The largest recurring cost is the lab infrastructure every lesson runs on, which scales with each new student. Every dollar goes toward keeping the platform running and the curriculum growing so it stays free.
- Who builds this?
- A small team of students and volunteer security practitioners. The founders competed in CyberPatriot and CTFs before building any of this, and practitioners review lessons for technical accuracy. Our story is on the about page.
Still stuck?
Teachers and club leaders should start with the educators page, which covers class codes and the questions administrators ask. Everyone else — the contact form reaches a person.