STC celebrates Cybersecurity Month by inviting students to do some legal hacking

It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month and South Texas College celebrated with its first Cybersecurity Hackathon Event.  

More than 400 middle, high school and STC students recently gathered at the college to learn about the field of cybersecurity and its career opportunities from STC faculty and to tour STC’s campus and Cybersecurity classroom and labs. 

STC Cybersecurity Program Chair Francisco Salinas said the event, a collaborative effort of the STC Cybersecurity Department, STC’s Dual Credit Program and Region One Education Service Center, was focused on raising awareness and exposing students at an early age to what cybersecurity entails.  

“There are so many opportunities, educational and career, that make up this field,” he said. “It’s a rewarding career that more people need to learn about. There’s a high demand for cybersecurity professionals and these students are our future. They’ll be filling these jobs someday.”  

Students in attendance also got to hear from STC’s Chief Information Security Officer Luis Gonzalez, who served as a keynote speaker, including industry partner representatives from Netsync and Outpost 24, who conducted Fortinet Security Firewall and Threat Intelligence and Wireless Security demonstrations, respectively, and heard from cybersecurity exhibitors such as Zoho, a local STC hiring partner, the city of McAllen and the city of Pharr.  

In addition, nearly 40 students participated in a Capture the Flag cybersecurity competition, an exercise in which “flags” are secretly hidden in programs or websites and competitors steal flags from each other or game organizers. 

The Capture the Flag competition was in partnership with STC’s industry partner EC-Council, The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants that certifies individuals in various e-business and information security skills. 

Besides flags and bragging rights, a scholarship from EC-Council for an online cybersecurity course through the organization, was up for grabs. The course leads to an industry certification. 

One of those students who participated in the college’s cybersecurity event and competition was Kiersen Cain, an eighth grader at Sharyland North Junior High School.  

Cain said her interest in cybersecurity, information technology and computers in general stems from her uncle, who for his whole life has worked in the industry. 

“I get my love for technology from him,” she said. “I like anything computers and how they work, including video games. So, this event has been an eye opener and has taken me more in-depth into the field I like.” 

She added that her favorite part of the event was being able to talk with professors, industry professionals and immerse herself into the technology by participating in the Capture the Flag competition.  

“This entire experience has been phenomenal. It’s setting me up for my future and has given me a lot to think about and consider. It’s been an invaluable learning experience.” 

Her peer Andrew Loya, also an eighth grader at Sharyland North Junior High School, shared the same sentiment. 

“This has been a great opportunity for students like me. It creates awareness for what’s possible and gives us the resources we need for our futures,” said the 13-year-old. “It has been interesting seeing everything the field has to offer. It’s been exciting.”  

Salinas called the event a success since so many students like Cain and Loya left inspired.  

“This is only the beginning. We hope to make this event an annual tradition every October,” he said. “This year’s event exceeded all expectations, and we can’t wait to make it bigger and better.” 

For more information on STC’s Cybersecurity program, visit southtexascollege.edu/academics/cybersecurity/.