Cybersecurity summer

In a world gone digital, 42 tech-savvy teens came together for a free week of hands-on cybersecurity activities at UB’s GenCyber camp.

This year’s camp, held June 27 to July 1, marked the return to an in-person event for the first time since 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic sidelined the program in 2020, and it was held virtually in 2021.

The goal of GenCyber is to encourage students to pursue career opportunities in cybersecurity, a profession that’s growing in demand as government agencies, businesses and other organizations face growing cyberthreats.

“Professionals with computer security skills are in high demand, making the field an attractive career option,” says David Murray, clinical professor of management science and systems in the School of Management. “As data breaches continue to regularly make headlines, the students who learn these skills will have better career options and will be prepared to effectively navigate our world of rapidly evolving technology.”

Each day, a capacity crowd of middle and high school students from 19 area schools learned about a wide range of cybersecurity topics.

The campers heard presentations from industry professionals, built a computer network using credit-card-sized Raspberry Pi computers and defended the network from a simulated cyberattack.

They also learned about Google hacking, HTML, encryption, web servers, system administration, computer virtualization and best practices for passwords.

Students who successfully completed the camp received a certificate of achievement at an awards presentation Friday afternoon.

GenCyber is presented by the School of Management, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Center of Excellence in Information Systems Assurance Research and Education (CEISARE) at UB, with sponsorship from the NSA, the National Science Foundation and businesses.