Video games can inspire young spies, parents told

FOR most parents, seeing their children engrossed in computer games can be a source of frustration.

But rather than despair at the misspent hours, parents should ask their children questions about how the games work to encourage an interest in coding, according to a GCHQ recruiter.

Parents should foster an “inquisitiveness” about how computer games are constructed so that their children have the opportunity to develop an interest in technology from a young age.

Chris Ensor, the deputy director for skills and growth at GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said parents play a “huge” role in influencing their children’s career choices.

“Anything that asks of a child ‘ Why do you think that works?’ or ‘ How do you think it does it like that?’ is good,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

“Some will love it and go and explore, others may not be that interested. But asking those questions is a real way of getting them interested.”

Mr Ensor said that he has learned from watching his own children play on computer games.

“Many will just play the games and not really understand what it’s doing. How do you get them to that next level?

“Take my son,” he said. “He is not interested in technology, but he started to ask: ‘How do I get the graphics better? How do I update the memory?’ All of a sudden he started to get an interest in how it works.”

Mr Ensor said people assume recruiting spies to work in cyber security is straightforward nowadays.

“There is no doubt that younger generations use tech far better than older generations,” he said. “But using a computer and understanding how it works are two very different things.”

The NCSC runs free programmes, activities and residential summer schools for children, aimed at inspiring the next generation of spies. Tomorrow a competition for girls aged 12-13 will open, where teams of four are asked to respond to cyber challenges.

Spy chiefs hope to promote the agency as a possible career choice, as well as educate children about the perils of leaving personal details online.