On the hunt for the cyber heroes of the future
SOME of Britain’s leading cyber defence experts, from QinetiQ, taught a class at Calthorpe Park School last week.
The Farnborough-based company visited the school, in Hitches Lane, Fleet, on July 8, to teach students about online security.
The visit was part of a national competition to find talented young people to protect citizens from hackers and computer viruses.
The cyber security challenge, UK school’s competition is a Cabinet Office programme backed by major employers, professional bodies and leading figures in UK cyber security, including Bletchley Park, BT, Cassidian, Sophos, CompTIA and eskills UK, as well as QinetiQ.
It aims to find Britain’s future cyber defenders and is the first initiative of its kind to teach secondary school students cyber security skills and educate them on the importance of the subject.
More than 700 UK schools have already signed up.
Chris Clinton, cyber security consultant at QinetiQ, said: “Cyber security is a big problem because we are increasingly dependent on computers and digital work in our home and work lives.
“To counter this rising threat, which threatens personal security such as bank details as much as it does national and commercial security, we must find a new generation of talented young people to join the profession.
“Through the cyber security challenge, QinetiQ is reaching hundreds of schools around the country and bringing the excitement of job opportunities to students at an age when they are starting to consider possible careers.”
Mark Goddard, maths teacher at Calthorpe Park, said: “We have been running a cipher club for years and initiatives like the Cyber Security Challenge are great for providing learning resources that test for, and develop, skills that could one day help our students get a really exciting job. Having Chris talk about what he does was really inspiring for the class and it was great to see the pupils respond with real perseverance and determination to break the ciphers created by the industry guys.”