NW Cyber Camp is designed to teach high school students about cybersecurity concepts and technologies, ethics, and career opportunities in the field. There are no pre-requisites for this camp, other than general experience with computers and a real interest in learning about cybersecurity. The curriculum is designed to be approachable, and all concepts will be introduced starting at fundamentals. Additionally, students with prior computer technical experience will have an opportunity to explore advanced topics & challenges, providing learning opportunities for students of every skill level. The curriculum development is led by Oregon State University’s cybersecurity academic and research department, benefiting from expertise from OSU’s real-world security operations center, ORTSOC.
Curriculum
The program is divided into three major components, beginning with a deep dive into core cybersecurity concepts including confidentiality, integrity, availability (C-I-A), defense in depth, architecture, and ethics. Following the deep dive into core concepts, students will break into teams and engage in a week-long interactive, online curriculum designed to reinforce these concepts. The curriculum is scenario-based, with students confronted with a simulated network and computer attack in progress. They will use a wide variety of tools to find, trace, diagnose, and stop the attack before the adversary can exfiltrate valuable data and encrypt-in-place. Some highlights of the curriculum include:
- Introduction to network security monitoring including hands-on SIEM use, common alert types, and identification of different types of network traffic.
- Identification of several types of network attacks/compromises, including ransomware, data exfiltration.
- Forensics analysis on various data formats and programs such as email, web
- Password cracking, other methods attackers use to break cryptography.
Throughout the week, the teams will engage in a process that mimics real-world team dynamics, looking for the simulated attack. On the last day of the camp, teams will create a presentation, and share with the group what they found and how they found it. This hands-on approach will provide students with practical experience in defending against cyber threats in realistic scenarios.
Industry Guest Speakers
Throughout the week, the curriculum will also feature up to two industry expert guest speakers per day from major cybersecurity companies and enterprises. These sessions will be interactive and will include career advice, providing students with valuable insights into career opportunities in the field.
Industry Banquet
An additional part of the camp experience is access to a cybersecurity conference that will be attended by many major cybersecurity companies and members of industry. One track of this conference will be dedicated to students and will include presentations from cybersecurity leaders and educators and opportunities for students to develop career skills as well as to meet directly with company representatives to learn more about career opportunities and perspectives.