The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Pupils to get insight into work of ethical hackers
Education: School to team up with experts for cyber security pilot project
Portlethen Academy is part of new Skills Development Scotland (SDS) project to introduce young people to “ethical hacking” and encourage them to consider careers in cyber security.
The Aberdeenshire school is to take part in a trial involving about 120 pupils from around Scotland.
Youngsters at Bellahouston Academy in Glasgow were the first to be given a special lesson on cyber security, with the project due to reach five other schools soon.
Cyber security experts
“But the really exciting part is having the industry experts involved”
have been signed up to work with the schools and teach pupils how to digitally audit a fictional airline, looking for weaknesses in its virtual online presence.
The students will also hear from experienced industry experts about what it is like to work in cyber security.
“Ethical hacking” – also known as “penetration testing” – refers to the act of finding weaknesses and vulnerabilities in computer and information systems by duplicating the intent and behaviour of malicious hackers.
SDS’s project – launched to coincide with Cyber Scotland Week – has been developed with and approved by teachers, in line with the schools’ cyber security curriculum.
C l a i r e G i l l e s p i e , digital technology sector manager, SDS, said: “I’m really excited about this approach, which will give learners handson experience with real security tools and techniques.
“But the really exciting part is having the industry experts involved. Sharing their skills, knowledge and real work experiences will be a real inspiration for the next generation of cyber security specialists.
“This is also a great way for cyber experts to benefit from classroom experiences, and who knows, maybe we will encourage some of them to retrain as teachers.”
She added: “If this pilot is successful, we not only plan to roll this out to more schools, but we also plan to take it beyond just cyber security and bring other industry experts in to talk about other broader, techrelated subjects.”
Portlethen Academy will be working with experts from the Scottish Business Resilience Centre.
Canadian information technology giant CGI supported the cyber security lesson at
Bellahouston Academy. Lindsay McGranaghan, business unit leader for CGI in Scotland, said: “Working in partnership with SDS will allow CGI’s industry experts to share their expertise and work experiences with Scotland’s future cyber security specialists.
“At the heart of this will be promoting an ethical and safe environment for them to learn the future skills that are in increasing demand within the cyber security industry.”
General Teaching Council chief executive Ken Muir said: “The introduction of computing experts to classrooms to support teachers and students to upskill their knowledge and skills in current issues such as cyber security is a fantastic opportunity for teachers and students to learn together, with support from experts in the field.”