Gathering Insights from Teenagers' Hacking Experience with Authentic Cybersecurity Tools

Authors

ŠVÁBENSKÝ Valdemar VYKOPAL Jan

Year of publication 2018
Type Article in Proceedings
Conference 2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)
MU Faculty or unit

Institute of Computer Science

Citation
Web Výsledek v sborníku konference
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2018.8658840
Keywords active learning; capture the flag; case study; cybersecurity; K-12; network security
Attached files
Description This Work-In-Progress Paper for the Innovative Practice Category presents a novel experiment in active learning of cybersecurity. We introduced a new workshop on hacking for an existing science-popularizing program at our university. The workshop participants, 28 teenagers, played a cybersecurity game designed for training undergraduates and professionals in penetration testing. Unlike in learning environments that are simplified for young learners, the game features a realistic virtual network infrastructure. This allows exploring security tools in an authentic scenario, which is complemented by a background story. Our research aim is to examine how young players approach using cybersecurity tools by interacting with the professional game. A preliminary analysis of the game session showed several challenges that the workshop participants faced. Nevertheless, they reported learning about security tools and exploits, and 61% of them reported wanting to learn more about cybersecurity after the workshop. Our results support the notion that young learners should be allowed more hands-on experience with security topics, both in formal education and informal extracurricular events.
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