Protection of an organization’s information system is a critical function. Cyber security specialists are in high demand, and are paid very good salaries. Cadets of the Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) attended the GenCyber Camp at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond from June 18-22. Skills needed for a career in cyber security were developed at this camp. These are also skills that cadets use when competing in Cyber Patriot, the national cyber security game where cadets act as security managers for an organization, defending and counterattacking against a cyber attack. This camp, like all JROTC activities, was done at no cost to the cadets or MCHS. The camp was funded by the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation.
The curriculum of the camp covered the following:
- Cyber security awareness training via educational games;
- Implement a cyber security awareness Virtual Reality (VR) game;
- Arduino based robot game design and security design principles;
- Ethical hacking and digital forensics practice;
- Team competition to solve a simulated computer forensics case.
Camp attendees came from as far west as the Chicago metro area and as far east Michigan City. MCHS had the most students from any one high school.
“This was a great opportunity for our cadets to be exposed to skills that could lead to a very rewarding and lucrative career,” said Senior Marine Instructor Major Tom McGrath.
Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, the Marine Instructor, commented on the balance that the unit’s Cyber Patriot team provides to the program. “Most of our extra-curricular activities are physical in nature- Drill team, Rifle team, Raider team, along with community service and participating in parades and ceremonies. Cyber Patriot really tests our cadets’ mental abilities.”
The Drill Team will continue to practice throughout the summer in preparation for next year’s season. Their goal is to qualify for and win the National MCJROTC meet which is being held in the Washington, DC area in April 2019. Additionally, they will be participating in numerous parades and community service events this summer. The largest of those events is the Michigan City Area School’s (MCAS) Back-To-School Rally on August 9th. This rally provides free school supplies to thousands of MCAS students. The cadets help with both the voluminous preparation on August 7 and 8, and then the event itself, to include the set-up and disestablishment of the event hardware.