39 TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS ACROSS THE USA WIN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS IN NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY COMPETITION

A national cybersecurity program designed specifically for high school girls has awarded scholarships to 264 young women who have successfully completed three stages of its cybersecurity syllabus. The best-performing girls were awarded $500 each towards future college tuition.
13,500 high school girls participated in Girls Go Cyberstart, a girls-only cybersecurity program designed to encourage young women into the cybersecurity sector and reduce America’s digital skills gap. The
program awarded scholarships to 264 top-performing
young women who have successfully completed its
cybersecurity syllabus and demonstrated an aptitude
for cybersecurity.
The program is the result of a partnership between
27 state governors and the SANS Institute, and invited
girls enrolled in grades nine to twelve to complete
three stages of digital challenges, designed to
introduce participants to important concepts in the
cybersecurity field.
The first stage of the program, CyberStart Assess,
consisted of a series of interactive puzzles that measured
existing knowledge, problem-solving skills, and
the potential for a career in cybersecurity. High performing
girls then progressed on to CyberStart Game
stage, where security techniques were learned and
applied to real-world challenges, including cracking
codes, finding security flaws and dissecting a cyber
criminal’s digital trail.
The final stage, CyberStart Compete, saw teams
from the 120-best performing high schools compete in a national
online ‘Capture The Flag’ competition. Alan Paller, Director of
Research at the SANS Institute, said, “A huge congratulations to
the fantastic young women who successfully secured scholarships.
It’s not only exciting but so reassuring to have so many talented
young women working their way into, and hopefully making waves, in such a vital industry. We are delighted that young women are
seeing cybersecurity careers as something rewarding
and challenging enough to pursue.”