Local students learn tools to help them with cybersecurity

Idaho Falls School District 91’s Career-Technical Education Computer Program took a visit to the University of Idaho’s Idaho Falls campus to learn some lessons on hacking. The students were given the task to play a cyber version of “Capture the Flag.”

“It is developing cybersecurity skills, getting an intro to the concepts, the tasks, the tools and hopefully sparking them to study it further in the future,” said Michael Haney, the assistant professor of computer science at University of Idaho.

District 91 Career-Technical Education students were able to get tricks and tools on hacking out of the game.

“It’s difficult to understand how to do cybersecurity if you don’t have some experience hacking stuff,” Haney said. “You have to give them a safe place to go and play around, where they’re not going to get in trouble or get an arrest record and have problems down the line.”

The teens were told to answer quiz questions, solve cryptography, translate phrases from Latin to English and more. Pretty much puzzle solving to get the kids to start thinking outside the box.

That is what Haney says hacking is all about.

“A goal for my program was to get students seeing the universities that were involved with the computer science program,” said Cathy Owen, a computer science teacher at Career-Technical Education. “It gives them an opportunity to go on campus and see if its something they like and want to try and do.”

This week’s cybergame helps the students see what direction of computer programming they want to pursue for the future.

“I personally want to go to college for a business degree, but I’m thinking of minors in computer science or other information technology pathways,” said Cole Owen, a senior.

“I want to go specifically into cybersecurity,” said Miles Cook, also a senior. “I know that Idaho State University offers a two-year degree, then eventually go into four years. Be more specialized in cybersecurity. It’s just a huge industry and they’re needed everywhere.”

The schools hope to show these students what else is could be out there.

“It always interested me that people could find IP addresses like on consoles and stuff, it just always interested me how they could do that,” said Omar Gonzalez, a senior. “I always thought of it like a puzzle, its really interesting how people can find something out within a few seconds. That’s why I like cybersecurity.”

The students went to the Idaho Falls’ campus both Wednesday and Thursday morning.

The program was also a way to give students an opportunity to learn about the Cybercore Summer Camp.