Pennsylvania among 27 states offering ‘Cyber FastTrack’ program for students

Patrick Varine
Thursday, April 4, 2019 11:31 a.m. | Thursday, April 4, 2019 11:31 a.m.

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Tribune-Review file

Ryan Goulden works using an Intel Edison device during an exercise involving both attacking and defending computer hacking at CyberStakes, a 2015 event where more than 70 Cadets and Midshipmen from the three U.S. Academies and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy went head-to-head in competition to show their knowledge of cutting-edge cybersecurity techniques.

A national cybersecurity program designed specifically for undergraduate and graduate students will launch Friday in Pennsylvania and 26 other states to encourage more young people to discover their talent and pursue careers in cybersecurity.

The Cyber FastTrack program is designed to entice more people into cybersecurity as well as bridge the country’s digital skills gap, program organizers said.

The program is delivered online so that students can complete it alongside their other studies and from anywhere in the country.

Undergraduate and graduate students can register for the program at Cyber-Fasttrack.org.

“Our ultimate goal is to encourage young people to consider a career within the cybersecurity sector,” said Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, a for-profit company specializing in information security and cybersecurity training. “It’s a very lucrative and rewarding industry and we hope by making the program available to a wide range of students, as well as offering scholarships and courses, it will make a career in this field more accessible.”

The program consists of three stages, “CyberStart Assess,” “CyberStart Game” and “CyberStart Essentials.”

Each stage features a series of digital challenges that are designed to introduce participants to important concepts in the field of cybersecurity.

“This is an exciting time to launch Cyber FastTrack, as cybersecurity is becoming ever more important in this country, and by educating young people, we can ensure the industry has a stream of diverse new talent,” Paller said.

The program was piloted among 3,000 students in seven states in 2017 prior to the launch.

The 27 states that have registered participation are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.