The NSA Has A Summer Camp For Teenage Hackers
We can only imagine the kind of "Spy Vs. Spy" pranks that go down here.
In an interview with CNBC, National Security Agency recruiter Steven LaFountain announced a half-dozen camps around the U.S. where kids as young as 13 have a chance to train with high-level programming experts to learn the fundamentals of preventing cyber attacks and other security breaches.
"We've come to the realization that we need to reach back further than college to get kids interested in cybersecurity," LaFountain told CNBC. "So just this summer, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, we created a program we're calling 'Gen-cyber,' sponsoring cyber-related summer camps for middle and high school students...around the country."
Instead of canoeing or mountain biking, the teens learn about coding vulnerabilities and participate in a "wireless scavenger hunt" for "rogue access points" around a college campus.
LaFountain says that the students aren't bothered by the Edward Snowden leaks, and just love learning about the technology: "One of our camps had 172 high school students in it. I visited the camp; I talked to about 25 students. Every one of them said, 'This is great. It's better than I expected. Can't wait to come back next year.'"
LaFountain hopes that the program will expand to "all 50 states," so the brightest tech minds do not grow up to use their powers nefariously. If you or your younger sib are the next Matthew Bourne, keep an ear (or a tapped phone line) open for more information.
