SCET Student Innovation Fellows expand their cybersecurity skills in Capture the Flag Challenge
To help address the talent gap in the rapidly growing cybersecurity industry, SCET Student Innovation Fellows have been growing their skills. By partnering with Berke1337, UC Berkeley’s student-run cybersecurity club, SCET created a hands-on capture the flag competition, SCET Innovation Fellows Capture the Flag Challenge, that included a series of cybersecurity challenges that would enable Fellows to gain real skills.
To encourage students from all backgrounds to join, SCET focused on creating a welcoming environment where students could feel supported and empowered to try something new. To help students understand the industry and latest trends, SCET hosted amazing guest speakers including Ryen Macababbad, Senior Manager of Product Security Trust at New Relic, Christopher Kirk, Principal Incident Manager at Microsoft, Samantha Isabelle Beaumont, Cyber Security Principal at IOActive, Kate Kuehn, Chief Trust Officer at Aon Cyber Solutions and Renee Guttman, Founder of Cisohive, who shared insights on the growing field. We also offered a space after the talks where students could come with their questions and get help.
It was incredible to see students finding flags as soon as they were released. Most of them had no previous experience in cybersecurity and found the challenges engaging. At our cybersecurity cupcake party we celebrated all of our participants for stepping outside of their comfort zone to try something new.
These flags helped students learn about a variety of key cybersecurity topics, such as personal security and how to think like a hacker. Going forward students have the opportunity to connect with sponsor HackerOne and continue their journey in this space through Hacker101. Once they feel comfortable they can try out the bug bounties on the HackerOne platform where they can gain money for their skills.
Students interested in learning more cybersecurity skills can also connect with berke1337 (the cybersecurity club) to join a community of students who are interested in cybersecurity. They meet weekly to walk through a variety of technical topics and compete in CTFs. Another opportunity they can pursue on campus would be with the Center for Long Term Cybersecurity that provides scholarships and research opportunities.
1. Student research opportunities in Spring 2023
CLTC will have several student research opportunities in Spring 2023. If interested, please write to cltc@berkeley.edu for more information.