High School CyberCamp Coming to Pitt

In this era of phishing scams and hackers compromising data systems, the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security is offering young people in the region a chance to learn more about cybersecurity.

High school students will converge on campus July 24 through 28 to attend the Air Force Association (AFA) CyberCamp, one of 66 camps being held across the country this summer and the only one being held in Pennsylvania. Any student enrolled in an area high school for the 2017–18 school year is eligible to attend with a recommendation from an instructor or member of the high school staff. There is no admission fee.

“If we are to meet the cyber threat, we need to increase the capacity by training more students through programs like the AFA CyberCamp,” said David J. Hickton, founding director of Pitt’s Cyber Institute.

Camp participants also will hear remarks from Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and Robert Morris University President Christopher Howard. On the final day of the camp, students will enter into a team-based competition that puts campers in the role of IT administrators tasked with finding and addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated network environments. These CyberCamp competitions will closely mimic AFA’s annual CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

CyberCamp participants will be given free computer access, workbooks, camp T-shirts and a daily lunch. Additional support is being provided by Pitt’s College in High School program.