[July 03, 2011] Lindhurst computer students score Tweet Jun 01, 2011 (Appeal-Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Lindhurst High School students know how to hack -- and how to prevent system breaches. Ten students in the A+ computer certification class have been ranked fifth in the state and 15th in the country in a national cyber defense competition. The United States Cyber Challenge aims to find and develop 10,000 cyber security specialists to pursue careers that will address a critical shortage in technical security skills and help the country regain the lead in cyberspace, with jobs in government, industry and utility and telecommunications companies, among others. "Everything we've been learning in this class relates to defense -- from viruses, trojans, malware," said junior Tyler Patchin. "Studying and learning what viruses need to get from your computer to be lethal and deadly and learning how that works and how to prevent it is always fun to me." The challenge tested students in networking, operating systems and system administration. The software engineering components of the challenge were the most interesting to Tyler, as he learned exactly how and what viruses target people. "Seeing a code of what it is trying to get is scary," he said. "I just hope people understand the dangers of what is out there. The Internet looks all safe, but you don't know what can come and get you." The United States is realizing its greatest insecurity is in cyberspace, as terrorists do not need to set foot on U.S. soil to wreak havoc, said teacher Eric Hoefler. By gaining cyber security skills, teens like those in his class will be the next generation of people keeping Americans safe while they sleep. "You guys are the cutting edge," Hoefler told students Wednesday. "You have more under the hood than a lot of guys earning a paycheck, so go get their paychecks!" If the students pass his class and a certification test, they can get college credit for what they have learned this year. In a community not overflowing with professionals or those in the technology industry, it's great to see so many students pursuing computer careers, Hoefler said. After graduating next week, senior Huutan Nguyen plans to attend Yuba College and eventually transfer to U.C. Davis for a bachelor's degree in computer science. Then he wants to pursue graduate school. "I know computers are complicated, and I want to understand them more," Huutan said. "The pay is really good, and you can get jobs just about anywhere." The students estimate they each spent about six hours a week working on the cyber challenge, part of which was after school hours. "I never study for anything, but for this, I did," said Huutan. "It's something we wanted to do." "And I wanted to make our school look good," said freshman Anthony Kinnard. Junior Edward Petruescu, who had the highest score among his classmates, thought the most fun part was the hacking. "I never tried it before because I thought I'd get in trouble," he said. "The legal way was the best way." The students were also motivated by the challenge's competition element. "It makes you see if you are just as good as other people," Anthony said. "We were 10 kids against 100, and we did pretty good." In addition to outranking several other schools across the country, some of the students posted scores better than those of students at junior colleges, Hoefler said. The students agreed one of the most difficult parts of the challenge was the timed component. Every second that ticked by took a point off their score. "Whether hacking or protecting from hacking, you have to think quickly," Edward said. "And you have to think accurately." The competition also pushed students to take risks and learn by trying new things, they said. "In schools, they tell you what to do, and in hacking they don't," Huutan said. "You have to think independently." CONTACT reporter Ashley Gebb at 749-4783. To see more of the Appeal-Democrat, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.appeal-democrat.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]