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Filed under: Internet, Kids, Security

Students encouraged to put their hacker skills to good use

U.S. Cyber Challenge

Three major federal organizations are looking to include 10,000 high school and college students in what's being dubbed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies the "US Cyber Challenge." CSIS is making three challenges available to young Americans looking to both better themselves in the field of cyber-security and potentially earn themselves a position as a security specialist in one of the high-profile federal organizations (like the NSA or FBI) that deal with security of the utmost importance on a daily basis.

The Air Force Association is putting on the Cyber Patriot Defense Competition; the gist of the competition is to demonstrate the most effective techniques in preventing an attack on a corporate network from malicious intruders. The SANS institute is taking the opposite approach with its Netwars competition, by challenging participants to successfully break into simulated (but realistic) systems in a "capture-the-flag" format game. The Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center provides a less hacking-oriented Digital Forensics Challenge, where teams will use their skills to examine and investigate forensic data manufactured by the Department of Defense to try to gain access to hidden or encrypted data.

According to the AFA, the United States is the single most likely country to experience a crippling cyber-attack from terrorists. Because of this, the CSIS is looking for young students and IT workers who have or are interested in having expertise in the area of computer security. The participants in these challenges will be on the path to a career in security keeping any network safe, from a small corporate intranet to those super-secret documents tucked away by the high-profile federal organizations.

[via Switched]

Filed under: Audio, Business, Internet, Kids, News, Web services

Teens wonder where their songs should come from

Dude where's my songsLegally old enough teens cannot buy songs from online services legitimately, because they all require a credit card, which not many teens have. Not only is this helping to drive the piracy rate among teens, it also illustrates another critical piece of information on why piracy is so rampant. The original problem of piracy is one of the service providers not giving consumers what they want. Let me explain. If someone made a way for teens (the biggest pirates out there according to studies) a way to legitimately get music, many would do it. Teens get sucked in by friends when there is no other alternative. As with drugs, clothes, electronics, and other stuff, teens will go where they have to to get what they want, and not just teens but people in general. People in general however (meaning adults) have a means with credit cards in their name to buy music. It is the same conundrum as the music to the mass deal before when Napster was being sued. Give the people what they want and they will come running, especially the younger generation. Why do you think MySpace is so popular?

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