Camp Enhances High School Students' Cyber Security Skillset

In the midst of what seems an endless onslaught of news headlines about hacked banks and government agencies in the U.S. and abroad, cybersecurity is as salient an issue as ever. As technology moves faster than most can keep up with, only a select few understand what cybersecurity is — leaving many with their heads spinning.

The University of San Diego's Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, in partnership with San Diego Law Enforcement agencies, recently addressed the need for greater cybersecurity understanding with its inaugural Cybersecurity Law Enforcement Investigations and Digital Forensics Camp. It’s a week-long program for high school students led by San Diego law enforcement partners such as the FBI, U.S. Secret Service and the San Diego Police Department.

The camp’s schedule included field trips to the FBI, computer programming classes and lectures on the ethics of hacking. Local high school student, Kenna, who heard about the camp through USD’s Cyber Saturdays program, shared what she enjoyed most about the week.

“I really looked forward to the law enforcement combined-ness, where it was about cyber investigation and law enforcement, which I both was and still am really interested about,” she said.

She said she hopes to learn more about cyber forensics and law enforcement beyond the week-long camp. She and her fellow high school students are ahead of the curve as a result of their introduction to cybersecurity and the potential it has for their future and the future of the world.

—Luke Garrett ’20

Video by Luke Garrett