Pitting one’s newly-acquired skills in cybersecurity against other participants in a mini Capture-The-Flag competition was the highlight to mark the end of the inaugural Youth Cyber Exploration Programme (YCEP), held on 11-14 and 19-22 June at our Cyber Wargame Centre.
YCEP is a 4-day programme specially designed to allow secondary school students to learn more about cybersecurity as a career. Attracting a total of 98 students from 18 secondary schools, the programme was organised by the School of Digital Media and Infocomm Technology (DMIT) in collaboration with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA).
Facilitated by lecturers and students from SP’s Diploma in Infocomm Security Management (DISM), participants learnt about the different areas in cybersecurity, including fundamentals of network and Operation Systems security, common types of attacks and internet threats, cryptography and digital forensics. Guest speakers from CSA also shared with participants on the exciting opportunities in the cybersecurity profession.
Participants went home with Certificates of Competence or Certificates of Attendance while winning team members also took away Gold, Silver or Bronze medals.
“We hope to create more awareness of cyber security as a career option among the secondary school students. There is a serious workforce shortage in this area and it is therefore important for us to start nurturing young talents who display keen interests and aptitude in this field.”
Mr Liew Chin Chuan
Acting Director
School of Digital Media and Infocomm Technology
“CSA is glad to collaborate with Singapore Polytechnic to develop the inaugural run of this programme. Aside from the encouraging number of sign-ups, the young participants also relished the hands-on opportunities to apply what they had learnt. We hope that the programme has opened their eyes to the exciting possibilities of a cybersecurity career.”
Dr Melvyn Kuan
Lead Consultant (Ecosystem Development)
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore