The modern Internet is proving to be a hacker’s playground, and cybersecurity is no longer an afterthought for the private sector or government agencies.
The expanded commercial opportunities and medical advancements offered by the much-anticipated Internet of Things will also present new security challenges for future cyber warriors. And, considering recent cases in which hackers were as young as 15, it’s imperative that schools and companies encourage kids to protect online data rather than exploit it.
CyberPatriot — The National Youth Cyber Education Program, for example — was established in 2009 by the nonprofit Air Force Association as a competition to generate interest among high school students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and encourage them to consider careers in cybersecurity.
“We determined that the STEM education challenge was and remains a national security issue; we simply are not drawing enough bright young students to STEM education and careers,” retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot commissioner, said via email.
Skoch said the organization originally determined high school age was the “sweet spot” for “the best opportunity for immediately shaping attitudes about cybersecurity and, more broadly, STEM as a career opportunity.”
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