USW announces cyber security training for teenagers

The University of South Wales has announced new cyber security training for teenagers.

It’s become one of the UK’s first universities to develop educational materials through the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) CyberFirst programme.

These include courses, bursaries and competitions aimed at encouraging young people (between 11 and 17) to take up careers in the cyber security sector.

Last October, USW ran a pilot CyberFirst for schools. Forty students aged 16 to 17 took part in the event, using specialist materials written by the university’s own cyber team.

The activities and materials have since been approved by CyberFirst, meaning the university can hold more events in the forseeable future. They will be published on the NCSC soon.

Clare Johnson, head of cyber security at USW, said: “We are delighted to be able to brand these outreach activities under the CyberFirst banner. CyberFirst is a fantastic initiative to help inspire and enthuse the next generation of cyber specialists, and to be part of this is really exciting.”