Teaching Kids Cyber Skills

In some Israeli schools, fourth-graders learn computer programming while gifted 10th-graders take after-school classes in encryption tactics, coding and how to stop malicious hacking. The country even has two new kindergartens that teach computer skills and robotics.

The training programs, something of a boot camp for cyber defense, are part of Israel's quest to become a world leader in cybersecurity and cyber technology by placing its hopes in the country's youth.

To that end, Israel announced this week the establishment of a national center for cyber education, meant to increase the talent pool for military intelligence units and prepare children for eventual careers in defense agencies, the high-tech industry and academia.

"You students need to strengthen us with your curiosity," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an Israeli cyber technologies expo, sitting next to high school students in a training program overseen by the defense establishment. "Your years in the security services will be golden years for the security of the nation."

Israel has long branded itself the "Cyber Nation" but authorities say they have been facing a shortage of cyber experts to keep up with the country's defense needs and keep its cybersecurity industry booming.

To build up a wellspring of talent, Israel is starting young: teaching children the basic building blocks of the web.

"In the first grade, they learn the letters, then how to read and how to write. We are building the next level of knowledge, how to code," said Sagy Bar of the Rashi Foundation, a philanthropic group running the cyber education center as a joint venture with Israel's defense establishment and academic institutions.

The center will also oversee educational programs launched in recent years, including the Education Ministry's Gvahim pilot program that introduced computer and robotic classes to the fourth-grade curriculum in 70 schools, and the after-school Magshimim program, which trains talented high-schoolers from underprivileged areas in college-level cyber skills.

Drawing youth into the highly technical field of cybersecurity is not a novelty, and the United States and Britain have implemented similar training programs.

The National Security Agency, America's global surveillance and intelligence agency, co-sponsors free cybersecurity summer camps throughout the U.S. for students and teachers from kindergarten through high school. The GenCyber program seeks to improve cybersecurity teaching in schools as early as kindergarten.

GCHQ, the UK's powerful signals intelligence agency, has a host of youth outreach initiatives, including an annual competition for amateurs and youngsters at dramatic venues such as Winston Churchill's World War II-era bunker under central London.

In 2015, the competition invested in whizz kid-friendly puzzle games, including a specially designed Minecraft level, to pique children's interest. Also, GCHQ is trying to bridge the gender gap and last month announced a national cybersecurity challenge for schoolgirls aged 13 to 15.

In Israel, the two cyber training programs feed Israel's vaunted military intelligence Unit 8200, which intercepts digital communications and collects intelligence on Israel's enemies across the Middle East — the Israeli equivalent of America's NSA.

Many members of the unit eventually move on to Israel's high-tech and cybersecurity industries. Some of the most successful technology companies have been founded by the unit's veterans.

Military service is compulsory for most Jewish high school graduates in Israel, giving military intelligence the power to enlist the country's best and brightest.

For military intelligence, it's a win-win situation

"Israeli talent comes mandatorily to the army," Col. R, deputy head of Unit 8200, told The Associated Press over the phone.

The colonel, who could only be identified by her first initial under military regulations, said Unit 8200 is trying to encourage more girls to study computer sciences and eventually join the unit as "cyberists."

In the Magshimim program, applicants must first pass a home quiz of riddles and challenges involving math, logic and algorithms. Previous computer expertise is not needed, and they can even look up answers online or ask a parent for help. The idea is to recruit students who are not intimidated by challenges, organizers say.

Those accepted to the program meet twice a week after school for three-hour classes, complete 10 hours of cyber-related homework a week, and participate in workshops twice a year.

During a recent workshop for 10th-graders at a school in the central city of Beit Shemesh, a group of 15 religious Jewish girls attended a lecture on artificial intelligence. One of the girls was knitting an orange yarmulke during class.

In a darkened classroom across the hall, a group of teens in sweatshirts and sweatpants hunched over laptops, playing a simulation game: a fictional network of computers had been hacked, and they had 45 minutes to learn an unfamiliar computer code, regain control of the network, and hack into the hacker's system to determine his identity.

"I broke in!" a student suddenly exclaimed. The fictional hacker was a popular cartoon character. Glued to his computer, 16-year-old Shalev Goodman said he hopes to use his cyber skills in military intelligence when he enlists.

"I'm not the most athletic person," he said. "I do want to give something to the country. So cyber is a good thing to do."

Program leaders say cyber ethics are enforced, students who use their skills to hack would not be accepted into the military and would likely ruin their future in the cyber industry.

But once in the army, the definition of ethics can become blurred. In 2014, a group of reservists in Unit 8200 signed a letter protesting its role in surveillance of Palestinians. One of the soldiers said the unit was sometimes asked to perform ethically questionable tasks, like spying on Palestinians uninvolved in violence.

"It feels a bit like a game, like a cool computer game," said Gilad, who could only give his first name because Israel's military censor has prohibited the protesters from revealing their full identity.

During his compulsory army service, Gilad said he worked part time in programming. "You develop apathy, moral numbness ... You are far away from the target," he recounted of those days.

Still, the computer skills Gilad gained while in the army helped him get his current job in the high-tech industry, he said.

APNews

Cyber Threats To Israel’s Air Traffic Control:    UK Schools & Teaching Computer Science:

 

« Engaging with the National Cyber Security Strategy:
US Changes Policy On International Cyber Regime »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

MIRACL

MIRACL

MIRACL provides the world’s only single step Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which can replace passwords on 100% of mobiles, desktops or even Smart TVs.

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

Watch this webinar to hear security experts from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SANS break down the myths and realities of what an NGFW is, how to use one, and what it can do for your security posture.

Authentic8

Authentic8

Authentic8 transforms how organizations secure and control the use of the web with Silo, its patented cloud browser.

Perimeter 81 / How to Select the Right ZTNA Solution

Perimeter 81 / How to Select the Right ZTNA Solution

Gartner insights into How to Select the Right ZTNA offering. Download this FREE report for a limited time only.

SmartSearch

SmartSearch

SmartSearch is a leading online provider of Anti-Money Laundering and Fraud Prevention Services.

Fieldfisher

Fieldfisher

Fieldfisher's Technology, Outsourcing & Privacy Group has class-leading expertise in privacy, data & cybersecurity, digital media, big data, the cloud, mobile payments and mobile apps.

Miller Group

Miller Group

Miller Group is an IT managed service provider. We proactively monitor and manage your entire business computer network. Services include backup & recovery and cyber security.

FixMeStick

FixMeStick

FixMeStick is a virus removal device, a USB key that removes malware conventional antivirus software often can’t detect.

Modux

Modux

Modux focus on a number of core competencies across cyber security including; cyber intelligence & analytics, penetration testing and training.

Auxilium Cyber Security

Auxilium Cyber Security

Auxilium Cyber Security is independent information security consultancy company.

Entel CyberSecure

Entel CyberSecure

Entel CyberSecure is a portfolio of Cybersecurity solutions and services for the protection, defense, risk management and regulatory compliance of ICT Systems for corporations and Government.

FinCom.co

FinCom.co

FinCom.Co is the world’s first automatic AML/ KYC screening system, for comprehensive compliance.

Slovak National Accreditation Service (SNAS)

Slovak National Accreditation Service (SNAS)

SNAS is the national accreditation body for Slovakia. The directory of members provides details of organisations offering certification services for ISO 27001.

The Security Company (TSC)

The Security Company (TSC)

The Security Company is a leading provider of creative employee security awareness programmes.

Hubraum

Hubraum

Hubraum is Deutsche Telekom’s tech incubator, helping startups to create new business opportunities in areas including data analytics, AI, robot process automation and cyber security.

ZARIOT

ZARIOT

ZARIOT's mission is to restore order to what is becoming connected chaos in IoT by bringing unrivalled security, control and quality of service.

Rimini Street

Rimini Street

Rimini Street is a global provider of enterprise software support products and services, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products.

GoPlus Security

GoPlus Security

GoPlus is working as the "security infrastructure" for web3, by providing open, permissionless, user-driven Security Services.

FluidOne

FluidOne

FluidOne are an award-winning Connected Cloud Solutions provider. We design tailored solutions to help customers and partners digitally transform their IT and communications.

PDQ

PDQ

PDQ helps IT professionals to manage and organize hardware, software, and configuration data for Windows- and Apple-based devices.