Cal State San Bernadino’s Cybersecurity Center will host on campus the free, five-day 2022 GenCyber Summer Camp, inviting 100 students comprised of middle and high school girls from Inland Southern California.

The camp will be from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, June 13 -17. It will have sessions on cybersecurity awareness, training and career mentoring designed to stimulate interest and competency in cyber content and career development, said Charles Rouse, program manager for the CSUSB Cybersecurity Center, which is housed in the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration. The camp is free as the cost is covered by a grant from the National Security Agency.

Cybersecurity is the body of technologies, processes and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access.

With the support of the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, along with faculty instructors from local school districts and cybersecurity-vested employers from across the country, the camp focuses on bringing an exciting, interactive cyber camp experience to a diverse youth population, Rouse said.

The camp will also feature CSUSB student led workshops that will bring introduction and training on cybersecurity concepts through a novel “Grid-Down” theme of addressing the many facets of disaster recovery and response from the perspective of the cybersecurity specialist.

The camp’s goal and measurement of success revolves around student knowledge and application of the GenCyber Cybersecurity principles and concepts via courses and activities involving the cybersecurity fundamentals, offensive and defensive security methods, social engineering, digital forensics, aerial and ground drone hacking and piloting, escape room, cyber hygiene and safe internet use, ethical hacking, the NICE Challenge cyber range, and various leadership and team-building physical challenges including rock climbing and the CSUSB high-altitude Leadership Challenge Center ropes course, Rouse said.

Cybersecurity specialists master and perform various security measures implemented to protect an organization’s computer systems and  networks. They monitor, analyze and fix potential system breaches that may be exploited by cyber criminals. Cybersecurity specialists also research trends in tech-based security to stay one step ahead of potential attackers and their tactics. Offensive security practices a proactive approach using ethical hacking, whereas defensive methods are reactively focusing on prevention, detection and responding to attacks.

Learn more at the national GenCyber program website.

To register for the summer camp, visit the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio GenCyber 2022 registration site.