Cal State San Bernardino’s Cybersecurity Center will host a live, on-campus, free six-day 2023 GenCyber Summer Camp, inviting 30 high school students from inland Southern California.

This year’s camp theme is “Finding Your Cyber Career,” and will feature CSUSB cyber student-led sessions highlighting National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework work roles available in the cyber industry, said Charles Rouse, program manager for the CSUSB Cybersecurity Center's Inland Empire Cybersecurity Initiative (IECI) community development program, which is housed in the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration.

The GenCyber camp, which will be centered at Jack Brown Hall, will be Sunday, June 11, to Friday, June 16. The campers will be staying overnight at the CSUSB OPP Residential Program, Rouse said.

As with previous CSUSB GenCyber camps, the week will focus on cybersecurity awareness, training and career mentoring designed to stimulate student interest and competency in cyber content and career development, Rouse said.

The approach this year is to introduce various cybersecurity professions to college-bound students while connecting the future job-seekers with Information Technology and cyber-related employers in the inland region who will be hosting “Power Hour” career mentorship sessions.

Participating employers this year will come from the CSUSB IECI community development program that fosters the development of cyber talent from K-12 into full-time employment in the Inland Empire. More information on IECI is at ie-cyber.org.

Summer camp participants will get priority enrollment in CSUSB's new cyber introductory course for dual enrollment in ADMIN 1003 Digital Mindset, said Rouse

The camp’s goal and measurement of success will revolve around student knowledge and application of the GenCyber Cybersecurity principles and concepts via cyber career jobs as network operations specialist, cybersecurity analyst, vulnerability assessment analyst, cyber defense forensics analyst, cyber defense incident responder, and various activities involving imaging raspberry Pis for networking and penetration test (or pentesting), digital forensics, aerial and ground drone hacking and piloting, escape room, cyber hygiene and safe internet use, ethical hacking, the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Challenge cyber range, and various physical challenges including rock climbing and the CSUSB high-altitude Leadership Challenge Center ropes course.

GenCyber at CSUSB is sponsored by the GenCyber Grants Program of the National Security Agency, the National Science Foundation and other federal partners. Learn more at the national GenCyber program website. To register for the summer camp, apply at the CSUSB Cybersecurity Center website’s Events page.