New River Valley Times

CyberSlam 2023 introduces area high schoolers to cyber career opportunities

Luckily it was part of a test set up by U.S. Secret Service members Michael Johns, Matt O’Neil, and Michal Condor to demonstrate that cyber-related hacks can happen anytime, anywhere. They also highlighted the illicit use of cryptocurrency.

“Hopefully, what you’ll get out of this is one, don’t accept any of those Air Drops you may have been seeing, and two, watch your social media,” said O’Neil, an expert in cyber-related crimes who leads Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC) and Cyber Intelligence Section (CIS). 

The Secret Service members joined Homeland Security experts, high school teachers, George Mason University faculty and more than 400 students from five counties and 22 high schools for the hands-on cybersecurity event held on Jan. 9. 

Last year’s event was open to Loudoun County students, but with increased interest and participation, the Johnson Center at Mason’s Fairfax Campus was the ideal venue.

Students flew drones, tested their cybersecurity knowledge, and even blocked a theoretical cyber hack. They also got career advice, including guidance on keeping their social media feeds clean.

Professor and Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement in the College of Engineering and Computing Liza Wilson Durant also spoke about the importance of cybersecurity. 

Original source can be found here