Cyber security experts inspire Rochdale Sixth Form students

Rochdale Sixth Form College

Cyber security experts from the SANS Institute spoke to Rochdale Sixth Form College’s Computer Science students about the roles that will be open to them when they have finished their studies.

Simon Mcnamee and Conor Kelly, security researchers at the SANS Institute, have worked with NATO and the FBI and left the students enthused about the exciting opportunities and gave them a real insight into the variety of job roles and career paths in cyber security.

The latest reports, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, have estimated that cyber crime damages will cost the world a staggering $6 trillion annually and cyber crime will more than triple the number of unfilled cyber security jobs to around 3.5 million by 2021. Meaning lucrative and rewarding careers await those moving into cyber security jobs.

Dan Forrester, teacher of computer science, said: “We’re very grateful to Simon and Conor for their visit and what really stood out for me was just how easy it is for hackers to gain personal information and passwords. They demonstrated to us all just how vulnerable we are in open networks in places like Starbucks and McDonalds and we were able to see in real time how they could see usernames and passwords and alarmingly were able to log into a bank account with ease.”

Radhiya Jabed, who is studying computer science at Rochdale Sixth Form College, said; "It really gave me a glimpse into the whole world of cyber security and has made me seriously start to consider a job in this field, whereas before I wasn't even considering a job in computer science. It was very Informative."

Many Rochdale Sixth Form students have been taking part in the government funded £20 million cyber discovery programme aimed at improving the skills of the next generation and encouraging the best young minds into cyber security.