The School of IT is reaching out to high school students to inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Two annual events bring high school students to the Illinois State University campus to develop cybersecurity skills and get a taste of battling against cyber attacks.
Central Illinois High School Cyber Defense Competition
Each year since 2012, the Central Illinois High School Cyber Defense Competition (CIHSCDC) has brought teams of high school students to the Illinois State campus to battle against an attacking “red team” of cybersecurity professionals. Each team is assigned a network and assets to protect. After some orientation and tutorial, they are given one hour to secure their assets before the red team begins to attack.
Each competing team receives identical business tasks to complete while defending their assets. Teams earn points when they successfully complete a task. Tasks vary in nature and point value. Teams are scored on how well they keep their services up and functioning, successful completion of tasks, and red team assessment of their defenses.
The 2023 Central Illinois High School Cyber Defense Contest winners are:
1st Place–Wheaton Warrensville South High School
2nd Place–Brimfield High School
3rd Place–Pekin Community High School
GenCyber Summer Camp at Illinois State University
In June of 2023 the School of IT will host the second annual GenCyber Summer Camp at Illinois State. The GenCyber camp is sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The GenCyber Camp at Illinois State seeks to ignite and sustain cybersecurity interest in high schools in the Central Illinois region in order to build a competent, diverse, and adaptable cybersecurity workforce pipeline. High school students who are entering grades 9 through 12 are eligible to participate in the camp.
GenCyber is a week-long residential summer camp where students will learn fundamentals of Cybersecurity while experiencing campus life at Illinois State. Students will participate in several hands-on activities that will help them learn and apply their knowledge on an IoT (Internet of Things) kit as they learn cybersecurity concepts.
