Dear Mr. Paller,
I recently read a magazine article about your thoughts on cyberspace in the world, and how it is imperative that our nation learn to better defend itself against attacks such as the ones on Google. I am an aspiring computer scientist, and I am particularly interested in network security. I am currently a junior in high school, and have a decent amount of programming experience (I have worked with Java and have effectively mastered the material on the College Board's AP Computer Science exam). However, I am unsure how to pursue knowledge in this particular subfield of computer science, as I find that many books and tutorials on network security use excessive amounts of jargon, rendering them rather difficult to comprehend. I am an ambitious student, but I lack the resources necessary to understand the concepts and how to effectively implement them. Would you be able to advise me where to turn to take my understanding of computers to the next level? Thank you so much!
Sincerely,
Daniel Dickstein
Dear Mr. Dickstein,
Thank you for your e-mail. Based on the information you provided, I would like to suggest a few things that might help you move forward within this field. On our Web site, NetWars, you can find links to different Web sites that top scorers in the NetWars competition have used to further develop their skills. These Web sites have been suggested by the top players based on their usefulness and educational material and tutorials. Many of the players particularly like the tutorials because they provide specific information and provide step by step instructions. Some of these Web sites also have chat rooms where individuals interested in this field, can share experiences and ideas, ask questions and provide answers. A number of young hackers say they have learned many of their skills by visiting these sites. The NetWars Web site also features reading material that might be useful for a beginner. I would also like to suggest that you try the new US Cyber Challenge competition called the Security Treasure Hunt.
The Treasure Hunt is a continuous competition that allows young people to test their skills, over the internet, at any time, and immediately learn where they rank relative to other players. The Treasure Hunt is the principal means of selecting talented high school and college students to be invited to the Cyber Camps scheduled for Delaware, New York and California in 2010. Players answer on-line multiple-choice questions ranging from easy to difficult. Half the questions can be answered directly from the competitor's knowledge. To answer the other half, the contestant jumps out of the quiz to a web site that has simulated (not actual) vulnerabilities.
The contestant explores the site to determine what vulnerabilities exist and then jumps back to the quiz to answer questions about those vulnerabilities. This competition could prove valuable to you in order to learn the language and test what you've learned. Those who do well in the competition or any other competition in the US Cyber Challenge might qualify for an invitation to cyber boot camps. The cyber camps are designed to help promising individual to enhance their skills and interests through different activities.
The cyber camps and courses combine specialized training sessions recorded by top SANS Institute faculty, delivered interactively over the Web, with workshops, labs and competitions conducted by faculty members from universities and security practitioners from industry and government. The camps will focus on several topics ranging from intrusion detections to penetration to forensics. Each camp may choose to focus to a larger area. Students who do well in the camps will have several opportunities to continue their development. They can earn scholarships to SANS courses, interns at corporations that do cyber security work, get more involved in the competitions to make it stronger, or help organize clubs in their schools to compete in regional and national competitions. Several government agencies and major technology companies are readying internship programs. If you have any additional questions please feel free to email us again.