INDIANAPOLIS — Data breaches caused by hackers have become a growing problem around the world, which is one of the reasons the demand for cybersecurity professionals is expected to grow.
To that end, the Department of Defense partnered with local Indianapolis tech leaders to host a hackathon.
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“We know that our national security challenges of the future are going to be in high tech, so this is a great opportunity for kids to learn how they can contribute to their country while also getting exposure to some of these really exciting technologies,” said Andrew Kosak, deputy director of the Institute for Applied Research.
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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that cybersecurity jobs will grow 32 percent by 2032.
At the hackathon, local high school students learned skills that could lead to careers in advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and data science.
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“You can make connections with people,” freshman Naman Vyas said, “people who can help you find a job and explore opportunities for the future.”
Vyas is part of the school’s robotics team and is interested in the technology field, and hopes to one day work in a job keeping data safe from hackers.
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“A white hat hacker’s job is to break into websites and find ways to better secure them,” Beers said. “I think it’s a really cool job. It’s like problem solving, finding a problem, and solving that problem to make it more secure for websites and businesses.”
Students like Vyas are highly attractive to technology leaders.
“There aren’t many industries these days that don’t have some technology aspect to them,” said Stacey Arnold of the Rady School of Information Sciences, Computing and Engineering. “We’re committed to making sure students have the tools they need to develop tech-savvy skills and get out there in the world.”
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The winners of the Hackathon Challenge were awarded funding to attend Indiana University, with IU awarding two of them $5,000 scholarships.
