Students at CyberSlam 2023 were surprised to get anonymous Air Drop alerts to their phones.
Luckily it was part of a test set up by U.S. Secret Service members Michael Johns, Matt O鈥橬eil, and Michal Condor to demonstrate that cyber-related hacks can happen anytime, anywhere. They also highlighted the illicit use of cryptocurrency.
鈥淗opefully, what you鈥檒l get out of this is one, don鈥檛 accept any of those Air Drops you may have been seeing, and two, watch your social media,鈥 said O鈥橬eil, an expert in cyber-related crimes who leads Secret Service鈥檚 Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC) and Cyber Intelligence Section (CIS).听
The Secret Service members joined Homeland Security experts, high school teachers, 亚洲AV faculty and more than 400 students from five counties and 22 high schools for the hands-on cybersecurity event held on Jan. 9.听
Last year鈥檚 event was open to Loudoun County students, but with increased interest and participation, the Johnson Center at Mason鈥檚 Fairfax Campus was the ideal venue.
Students flew drones, tested their cybersecurity knowledge, and even blocked a theoretical cyber hack. They also got career advice, including guidance on keeping their social media feeds clean.
Professor and Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement in the College of Engineering and Computing also spoke about the importance of cybersecurity.听
鈥淵ou鈥檙e here because of your interest in cybersecurity,鈥 Durant said. 鈥淲e hope that for the next several years, those skills you鈥檝e been honing develop into a real expertise that鈥檚 going to have an impact on the quality of our lives and even the security of nations around the world.鈥
In Virginia alone there are more than 60,000 open cybersecurity jobs right now, a number Durant said will continue to grow in the coming years.
鈥淓nergy grids, autonomous vehicles, even your doorbell, your microwave, refrigerator, think about medical systems, [all of these] are things that have to be secure now and that are vulnerable,鈥 says Durant. 鈥淭his is a critical time for the work you鈥檙e going to be doing.鈥
Mason established a first-of-its-kind cyber security engineering department in Virginia in 2020. The College of Engineering and Computing will be a key part of Fuse at Mason Square (formerly Arlington Campus), which will house a mix of university R&D and related education programs, as well as corporate innovation labs, incubators, accelerators, and co-working facilities when it opens in 2025.
The event was put on with the assistance of members of Mason鈥檚 Systems Engineering and Operations Research department along with teachers from Briar Woods and Loudoun County high schools.