A Maryland-based foundation that encourages students to prepare for a career in cybersecurity is sponsoring a workshop at the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC).
The National Cryptologic Foundation (NCF) event will be on Saturday, March seventh. Dr. Alisha Jordan, NCF Education Program Director, told ABD it is for students and their parents.
“We bring kids in between the ages of 10 to 18 for hands-on cybersecurity learning events,” she said. “We bring younger learners in to talk with industry partners, educators, and volunteers to engage in like a full day of cyber-related activities.”
This is the sixth time the NCF has organized this event, but it marks the first time it will be at GCITC.
“We are thrilled to partner with the National Cryptologic Foundation to host this inaugural event here in Augusta to help inspire the next generation of cyber professionals,” said Eric Toler, Executive Director at the GCITC, in the news release announcing the program. “We want the students to have fun, learn some tips for staying safe online, but most importantly, we want to introduce them to a rewarding career field they may want to consider when they graduate.”
That is one of the driving reasons behind events like Cyber Saturday. Jordan said there is a critical need for trained cyber specialists, pointing to the more than 400,000 unfilled positions in cybersecurity nationwide.
“The biggest thing is we need to have kids understand that there are different pathways into cyber and cybersecurity,” she explained. “They can take the traditional, which is a four-year degree. They can go to community college, or if in their high school, they have CTE (Career Technology Education) classes under cyber security, they can begin to work on certificates.”
Additionally, well-trained students can apply for internships and apprenticeships at cybersecurity companies. It leaves open the door if a student wants to study for a two- or four-year degree with little to no student debt.
“With NCF, we have a podcast called Cyber Chats, we are talking to industry professionals, and we’re talking to you,” said Jordan. “One time, we had an 18-year-old who graduated from high school and was going right into the workforce, making six figures in cybersecurity based off of his certificates that he received in high school. We have a 14-year-old on one of the episodes, a couple of years ago, that’s written three books in the area of cyber security.”
NFC was founded 30 years ago in association with the National Security Agency (NSA). The nonprofit organization’s mission is to inspire and develop the next generation of cybersecurity and technology professionals.
“With the education wing, we go into schools and districts and kind of talk to kids about data care and how they can start building cyber literacy from elementary school all the way through adulthood. The overall arching focus is really expanding the students’ awareness, but also strengthening workforce pathways and helping students see that they could get careers or jobs in the area of cyber or cybersecurity,” said Jordan.
Cyber Saturday will include a live escape room, Capture the Flag competition, and interactive learning sessions. Topics will include online safety lessons, ethical hacking concepts, and the NCF CyberSmart Challenge. A cyber safety booklet will be given to each student to reinforce lessons from the event.
“We hope that students come out so that they can understand how cybersecurity connects to their everyday lives. That’s number one,” Jordan said. “We also hope students come out so that they can begin to see themselves as future problem solvers and innovators in the area of cybersecurity.”
The March seventh event runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. More information is at https://cryptologicfoundation.org/ncf-event/cyber-saturday/
