Our goal is to provide motivated high school students with an introductory cybersecurity experience defending computer systems, including hands-on experience with defensive cybersecurity practices – core skills applicable to any cybersecurity career.
Our sessions include expert presentations by guest speakers from industry- leading companies who have both deep experience in cybersecurity fields and insight into careers in IT security, network and cloud security and secure software engineering.
We’re proud to offer students valuable experience that can aid in qualifying for cybersecurity internships in the future. We’re especially proud of our student organizers, several of who have interned at national cybersecurity companies.
“Cyber Camp was super fun! The instructors were great about talking to everyone and helping connect us to future opportunities, and the lab instructions were clear and concise. I’d definitely take it again if I could.”
Why Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is one of today’s hottest technical fields, with some experts forecasting a shortage of up to 1 million of trained professionals in the coming years. Careers in cybersecurity can be incredibly rewarding, high paying, and are in demand worldwide in just about every industry.
Management
NW Cyber Camp is a program running under the Oregon Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and is housed at Portland State University. The day to day management of NW Cyber Camp is performed by the NW Cyber Camp staff with assistance from the Mark O. Hatfield Cybersecurity & Defense Policy Center.
Funding
NW Cyber Camp is funded through Oregon HB2049 and through the contributions of numerous public and private sponsors. In 2024, our Portland,, Salem, and Corvallis camps are funded through the GenCyber program.