As a definitive demonstration that cyber security is in increasing demand in our technical age, San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) added a round two last week to its CyberCamp for Inland Empire Teens. The session, led by Roger Powell, SBVC professor of Computer Science and Information, conveyed a large swath of information to the eager campers about cybersecurity.

Inland Empire teens learn the essentials of cybersecurity

From a level one introduction to client-side computer security to Linux-operated server security, the students were inducted into a world that is unseen to most eyes, even those of the technologically adept. “This is a generation of able youth,” Powell notes, “who will be terraforming the digital landscape for us tomorrow.” What began of technology as a convenience has become a necessary frontier in information communication, and what is at stake is the security of every individual every time he/she inputs information on the web.

To gauge the audience, Professor Powell posed to the campers, “What’s the easiest way to get hacked?” only to be met by a quick-to-rise wave of young hands sure of the answer: “Phishing,” or the art of masquerading as a trustworthy source to gain confidential information. With much emphasis on roles of technology in the future, SBVC is training youth to take action now and learn steps to vanguard themselves from savvy miscreants who pounce on the uninformed for their information (and usually money).

Cyber camperCyberCamp 2017 hosts interactive ways to test the students and check their work as they learn how to secure servers, such as games that award and penalize students depending on how secure they made their system. The campers found that learning to protecting themselves digitally was fun and enthralling. 

 

Camp students and all those interested can learn the essentials and the advanced through San Bernardino Valley College’s various degrees and certificates in cybersecurity, such as computer engineering technology, computer science, and Cisco-certified network associate.