By Staff Reports
(KAUAI)– Cyber attacks are on the rise. GenCyber Hawai‘i, a program supported by the University of Hawaiʻi, provides free, one-week summer cybersecurity camps to high school students and Hawai‘i Department of Education teachers to increase interest in cybersecurity careers and diversity in the workforce. The camps focus on engaging learners with sound cybersecurity principles and improve teaching techniques for delivering cybersecurity content.
Participants learn about cyber hygiene, coding, networking, basic forensics and various cryptographic systems. They also learn about various stages of a cyber attack along with ethics. Jodi Ito, chief information security officer for the University of Hawai‘i, leads the camps with this important statement, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
The supply of cybersecurity professionals has fallen far short of demand, with some studies estimating a gap as large as 600,000 professionals. Additionally, it is critical that young students have a basic understanding of cybersecurity so they can see how it impacts all aspects of their lives, be it through social media, economic situations or physical devices.
2019 cybersecurity camps with available seats:
June 24-28, 2019 Security Xploration Camp at the Moloka‘i Education Center (Moloka‘i)
July 1-5, 2019 STEMworks GenCyber Camp at Kaua‘i High School (Kaua‘i)
July 15-19, 2019 STEMworks GenCyber Camp at Kea‘au High School (Hawai‘i Island)
July 15-19, 2019 All Skill Levels Camp at Leilehua High School (O‘ahu)
July 22-26, 2019 All Skill Levels Camp at Waipahu High School (O‘ahu)
To learn more and register for a camp, visit https://gencyber-hi.org
Since 2015, GenCyber Hawai‘i has received more than $700,000 in funding to hold 44 camps with participation from more than 600 students and 700 teachers. These camps are free and offered across the state. There are still openings for high school students to attend camps..
“Many of our daily household items, personal computing devices and business systems are connected to the internet and we are seeing a proliferation of ‘The Internet of Things’ so it is vital that everyone is cognizant of cybersecurity,” said Steve Auerbach, director of the Pacific Center for Advanced Technology and Training at Honolulu Community College. “These camps are a way for students to increase their awareness of cybersecurity in a fun and friendly environment, which will hopefully increase their interest in pursuing a career in cybersecurity.”
GenCyber Hawai‘i is a vital component of Hawai‘i’s Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development Strategic plan, which directly supports the UH Hawaiʻi Graduation Initiative. ThePacific Center for Advanced Technology Training atHonolulu CC works in partnership with the Hawai‘i State Department of Education, the UH System Information Technology Services, UH Mānoa Department of Information and Computer Science, STEMworks, UH Maui College, Kaua‘i Community College and Hawaiʻi Community College to host these camps. More than $700,000 has been received from the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation, in addition to financial and advisory support from the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation and the Information Systems Security Association, Inc. to support these camps.