​“At the CyberFirst Futures 5-day course, we learnt all about the world of cybersecurity. Throughout the week we discussed it from both sides; from the view of hackers and the view of cyberists, who work to make today’s technology more secure. Half our time was spent in lectures, where we discussed things such as the theory behind cybersecurity, for example Firewalls and possible motives of different hackers. The other half was spent in ‘labs’ where we were in a team for the week, trying ‘hands on’ practical work such as configuring our network securely and hacking other team’s networks. The course has made me consider a career in cybersecurity and I got to know many new people, so overall it was a really great experience.”

On a casual round of emails entailing opportunities for the summer, I came across an email from Ms Copin about STEM which included a one-week course in the summer on the topic of cybersecurity. At first, it seemed as if it just covered most of the Computer Science GCSE syllabus but when I attended the course I was extremely surprised. During the course of one week, I had managed to learn all about the dangers of the internet and how private your information really is. A picture you post contains metadata which can essentially let someone find out what time, where, when and the type of device you took your photo on. I’d also learnt that the password “thecowjumpedoverthemoon” is more of a secure password than “VM3$djK” and would love to discuss with someone if they’d like to know why or battle out their thoughts with me on the topic. One of the most interesting things that I had learnt was how with a certain application, an easily accessible virus and an IP address; you are able to hack into any computer to take screenshots of them, lock their mouse, remotely restart their computer, steal any files, open a chatbox on their screen, cause damage to their computer and many other features. I found the course incredibly eye-opening into the dangers we can face; especially knowing the fact that any kid with a computer can accomplish such things and would without a doubt do the course the level up again next year.