UK unveils plans to education schoolchildren in cyber security

A new initiative is looking to arm Year 9 (13-14 year-old) students in the UK with cyber-security education. Education provider Smallpiece Trust and the country’s intelligence agency, GCHQ, have joined forces, and through the Royal Holloway, University of London, will provide a course that sees the UK’s top security experts teach and challenge students on cyber security issues. Adrian Davis, Managing Director EMEA at (ISC)² was quoted as saying: “This is another step to creating the cyber-literate population the UK will need to reap the rewards of the digital economy. I hope that this initiative will attract other sponsors, especially from the industry, to broaden the challenges these students will face and to show them the breadth of our profession and the careers that it offers.”

A new initiative established by the Smallpeice Trust and GCHQ aims to bring together Year 9 students from across the UK to educate them on cyber-security.

Following a tumultuous year of cyber-security breaches in 2015, both organizations have banded together to arm the nation’s young people with invaluable information in the fight against cybercrime.

The course, delivered by Royal Holloway, University of London, will see some of the UK’s top security experts teach and challenge the youngsters with workshops designed to engage their minds about the issues surrounding cybersecurity.

Dr Kevin Stenson, Chief Executive of The Smallpeice Trust, said:

“It may be a case of poacher turned gamekeeper, but it stands to reason that if you’re going to learn how to deal with cyber-attacks effectively you need to understand exactly how they work. Our partners at GCHQ believe that in order to stop hackers they need to understand how they operate, so we’re happy to follow the experts and encourage and enable our course attendees to be inspired.”

“Courses like this are all about thinking big, exploring further and imagining more, and it really doesn’t get bigger than having Britain’s cybersecurity forces supporting a residential course at one of London’s most prestigious universities. Of course, Smallpeice’s own team will also be on hand to help further capture the imagination.”

In an email to Infosecurity Adrian Davis, Managing Director EMEA, (ISC)² spoke glowingly of the new scheme and what positives it will bring across digital professions.

“This is a great initiative by the Smallpeice Trust and one which we wholeheartedly support. This is another step to creating the cyber-literate population the UK will need to reap the rewards of the digital economy. I hope that this initiative will attract other sponsors, especially from the industry, to broaden the challenges these students will face and to show them the breadth of our profession and the careers that it offers.” he said.