02

cybercenturion vii finalist teams senior division team ccvii-0002 the w1nrars team leader: max barstow finalists: isaac badipe, james harvey, finley denton, nils andré team ccvii-0068 bitm4p team leader: michelle greenland finalists: kaitlyn chan, jenny zhan, reva banthiya, sarina kenward team ccvii-0074 <error 404: team name not found> team leader: michelle fowler finalists: eugene chen, alex dermont, jonas williams, alex hayes team ccvii-0078 cybersensation team leader: george omnet finalists: maisha motlib-siddiqui, patrick beart, ivan ly, dylan mankin, euan balmer team ccvii-0147 cyberaces team leader: owen cutajar finalists: arthur owenson, luka warren, aaron rielly, siddharth shakthivel muthu pandian team ccvii-0185 team leader: sam leonard finalists: sai putravu, samee ullah malik, natalie shapiro, anahitha vijay team ccvii-0200 solo ryder team leader: stewart harrison finalists: ryan victor, lorian fadul-risk, erin mora-colton, karisma daswani team ccvii-0202 cyber$parta team leader: stewart harrison finalists: louis smalls, dylan risso, alexa tilbury, diego guzman team ccvii-0218 45f team leader: kieren waghorn finalists: harry piper, thomas taylor, daniel bannister, oliver jones team ccvii-0422 null pointer exception team leader: devon connor finalists: anne-rosa bilal, joshua heng, oscar williamson, sascha bharath junior division team ccvii-0070 sgse y9 cyber team leader: michelle fowler finalists: harkirat kaur, mohammed bilal haq, haadi majeed team ccvii-0201 somebody team leader: stewart harrison finalists: keivagn pereira, ethan abensur, jack skillicorn, evagenia grigorov team ccvii-0256 caesar cyber team leader: micheline roberts finalists: matthew johnsen, sonny hurwitz, avinav garg, finn evans team ccvii-0424 maynard team leader: kathryn mulhauser finalists: hannah sophia mulhauser, india vratny, emma declerck, tess tilby team ccvii-0432 163 cyber flight team leader: john collins finalists: jack lawton, george lawton, hamish lawton 04

s t n e t n o c competitors 12 03 national finals - storyline 04 class of cybercenturion vii 05 foreword: margaret jones, gm, cyber security challenge uk 08 2021 finals 10 14 16 18 cybercenturion vii at a glance cybercenturion vii finalists spotlight case study: 163 cyber flight spotlight case study: success in gibraltar 06

the cybercenturion vii: national finals a socially distanced national finals sees some of the closest scores in cybercenturion history it’s 10:00 on thursday 29 april 2021, welcomes and instructions are complete, and the anticipation of the cybercenturion vii national finals began to explode in pockets of four-person teams located all around the uk, the isle of man and gibraltar. fuelled by pizza, globally-recognised delivery outlets were mobilised with almost military precision to minimise distractions during the second half of the competition, when risking stomachs rumbling simply wasn’t an option. aside from the designed challenges that featured in the competition (that convinced some they’d encountered real technical problems!), no major issues were reported, behaviour was top notch and the gentle sound of paper aeroplanes clearing towers of empty boxes could be heard over discord as the scoreboard was taken down for the climactic close at 15:00 hours sharp. junior teams in particular showed no signs of slowing down despite the difficulty level of the competition, a reflection of their attitudes upon gaining a real insight into what it takes to succeed. “absolutely elated”: congratulations team on winning first prize in cybercenturion vii the awards ceremony took place at 12pm on friday 30 april, hosted by nick chaffey (northrop grumman), frank zaborowski (air force association) and joined by special guest eileen burbidge mbe (passion capital). the broadcast went live and teams rolled in, watching and listening with intent as the total of 10 awards were reeled off. a quick change from specs to shades revealed that team had been successful in winning the overall competition, and collecting the trophy and all-expenses paid trip to the us, courtesy of northrop grumman. a virtual team led by ex-competitor sam leonard, the team also collected the award for top scoring mixed team in the overall competition. beating the second placed team by just two points, sam commented on behalf of the team: “i’m sure they’ll be absolutely elated.” “many congratulations to the 15 teams that made it to the national finals. it’s fantastic to see so many teams back in the competition, and so many new teams joining the competition over the last year.” nick chaffey, ceo uk, europe & middle east, northrop grumman “on behalf of northrop grumman, we’re a key leader in technology across defense, security and space. cyber security is critical to progress in the space domain, and this is something we very much understand as we work towards the next lunar landing planned for 2024.” “we had a great season!” frank zaborowski, cyberpatriot director, air force association “the national finals were the culmination of everything competitors worked hard at all season. i am highly impressed by your demeanour, fair sportsmanship and integrity. scores during the final were very close; some teams jumped out of the starting gate, others passed them by, and by the end, a matter of single-digits came between the top positions.” 08

cybercenturionvii at a glance 451 total registrations for cybercenturion vii three 60 minute virtual roadshows brand new training material targeted campaigns scotland, norfolk, midlands, st albans 10 mentors from stem ambassador network this years finalist team leaders have led a total of 26 teams to the cybercenturion national finals number of all girls teams registered increased by 65% compared to cybercenturion vi competitors in ccvii 15% all girls 35% mixed 10% junior 44% all boys 6% cadets 90% senior 10 45165%1026

1 2 cybercenturion c o m p e t i t o r s

<error 404: team name not found> sgse y9 category: all boys age group: senior bio: this veteran team has taken part in cybercenturion for the last five years and is motivated by puzzle solving and working together as a team. the competition is an exciting change from their typical hobbies and pushes them outside of their comfort zones to refine their skills in a competitive environment. their most memorable moment was winning the grand prize trip to america courtesy of northrop grumman! next, they’re off to study computing and cyber security at university. motto: there is no excuse for computer misuse. s corer t o p s category: mixed age group: junior bio: cybercenturion first timers, this team loves working with computers and having fun, even better when it’s educational and they get to learn about all new concepts. these ambitious students hope to go on to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas, where software engineering will play a huge role motto: don’t let the world change your smile, let your smile change the world. j u nio r 45f all b o y s cyberaces category: all boys age group: senior bio: these guys love how engaging and educational cybercenturion is. keen complex code crackers, they admit that sometimes they can take security a little too seriously; locking themselves out of their scoring graphs and image files! all team members are aspiring raf and british armed forces officer candidates. motto: if you’re going through hell, keep going. s corer s p t o cade t s category: all boys age group: senior bio: back again, this team just can’t get enough of the challenge. fans of the competitive aspect, they also recognise how the competition creates new friendships - where learning about the importance of cyber security is the common ground. cybercenturion has definitely helped them plan their futures which include cyber and neuroscience. motto: carpe diem: why talk about the future when we have the present? caesar cyber maynard category: all boys age group: junior bio: forensics, problem-solving and thinking outside the box are favourites for this team. learning the fundamentals like how to create a virtual machine and getting familiar with the linux os has been super important this year. who knew a computer was capable of so much? as for the future, it’s a strong line up of cyber security, coding, devops and maths. watch out, world! motto: work hard, play hard and enjoy life. j u nio r category: all girls age group: junior bio: the maynard girls agree that solving the most complex problems is always easier with a strong team supporting you. they love how realistic the cybercenturion challenges are; getting a taste of what it would be like to handle these types of situations in industry is so valuable. from physics to filmmaking, their career goals span a broad spectrum. but first, they’re planning to come back next year and compete again! motto: follow the white rabbit! explore every idea no matter how bizarre or strange it may seem - you could discover something new and amazing. soloryder somebody category: mixed age group: senior bio: teamwork and communication come out on top when you ask this team what it takes to succeed. and look no further for stem advocates, this clever bunch have ambitious plans to become medical researchers, aeroespacial engineers and microbiologists. motto: vision without action is a daydream, don’t predict your future.... create it! category: mixed age group: junior bio: serial cybercenturion competitors, this junior team is already streets ahead of many with their real life cyber security industry experience, considering future pathways as forensics detectives, coders and it professionals. three words to describe the competition? fun. educational. opportunity. couldn’t have said it better ourselves. motto: everything happens for a reason. j u nio r s t s i l a n i f e h t 14 age 12-14age 12-14age 12-14

cybercenturion vii: spotlight case study: junior team 163 cyber flight 163 cyber flight is certainly a close-knit team, these three national finalists are a real band of brothers! cybercenturion vii was their first year taking part, and we’re pretty sure it won’t be the last. “using the browser-based platform in the later stages of the online qualifying rounds made the whole thing much easier, too. downloading all the images and making sure they were secure in advance of competing was stressful at times! “getting as much practice as we could gave us a good excuse to play the games on cybergamesuk.com. it was a great distraction from being stuck at home. this kept us learning and definitely helped strengthened our team spirit between the competition rounds.” reaching the national finals has been a moment to reflect for these three lads. “we discovered cybercenturion through our flight sergeant at cadets. we decided to form a team for a bit of fun and to see what it was like.” the junior team was registered, a name was chosen. 163 cyber flight was taking shape! from there, they got to work preparing for the competition. “we mainly did training on the website. it was good fun and quite easy to navigate around! this was very helpful for getting us ready for the competition.” the online qualifying rounds quickly became something to look forward to as lockdown was extended in the uk. of course, living at home together made it easy for the boys to train and develop their teamwork skills throughout the competition, and kept communication with their flight sergeant team leader straightforward. and with their high scores came increased anticipation that they were in with a real chance of collecting one of the coveted trophies. almost a year exactly since lockdown first began in the uk, they received the good news they’d made it to the national finals. “by the time we got the news we’d reached the national finals, we’d spent almost a whole year in lockdown. it was exciting to be doing something different, and kept us busy and entertained between months of remote schoolwork and trying to stay out of trouble around the house!” the secret to their first-time success has a lot to with their gaming experience and mindset. “our advice is to approach the competition as if it’s a game, and not to let the pressure of the scoreboard stress you out. we’ll take on the national finals in the same way, staving off any nerves and focusing on the fun factor. if we win a prize, that will just be an added bonus!” “ we never thought we were very good at cyber stuff, and cybercenturion has really helped us realise we’re actually quite good! by taking part in the competition, we’ve learned a lot and feel much more confident about taking on similar challenges in future.” 16

cybercenturion vii: official launch success in gibraltar cybercenturion is open to all residents of british overseas territories, and is proud to have hosted the bayside and westside schools since 2015 throughout the virtual rounds all the way to the national finals for six years running, thanks to the commitment of head of physics, stewart harrison (bayside school), headteacher michael tavares, and parent lluis mora. gibraltar is recognised as a rich talent pool for cyber security and the bayside school was recognised as the cyber school of the year in the national cyber awards 2020. “cybercenturion gets tougher every year so it is clear that gibraltar is doing something very right. our partnership with the private sector is key to our continued success.” cybercenturion highlights include the 2016 national finals at bletchley park where bayside school first won the trophy, entering a record high of 40 students from gibraltar in 2017, and leading the first ever all-girls team to the finals in 2018 when the tower of homage in gibraltar was lit with the girls in tech logo to celebrate. following five years of success including securing local sponsorship to help mentor competitors, stewart harrison went on to found the gibraltar digital skills foundation at the start of 2020. three gibraltar teams secure their place in cybercenturion vii national finals cybercenturion vii proved to be no exception to gibraltar’s track record of success, with three teams reaching the national finals (x2 senior teams and x1 junior team). stewart shared his account of leading another cohort of students through the competition amidst a global pandemic, and let us into some of the outtakes that kept everyone smiling despite the odds. “this year has been like no other. normally we compete carefree and we are in it to have fun. this year we had to put so much emphasis on the students’ and trainers’ wellbeing with regards to protection against covid. we made sure that everyone, including parents and school management, were safe by implementing the correct public health protocols and ensuring that everyone followed the new rules.” “i could have easily have decided not to compete this year, but that would have meant that the virus had won. this wouldn’t have been fair to our students, who were so eager to carry on and do what they really enjoy. they look forward to this annual event and all the activities that come with it, including the training sessions, working with their friends, being in a different learning environment and gaining new skills along the way. in the end, the only injury we encountered along the way was when our youngest competitor angel fell asleep by the end of round 2 - in his words, absolutely coded-out. laughter has been the glue that has kept the students together throughout these last 12 months, that’s for sure.” a cyber challenge met with outstanding resilience “i’m really pleased to see three of our teams reach the national finals, especially after such a horrible year. i remember last year watching the updates coming out of china as we prepared for the cybercenturion vi national finals, and hoping the spread would be slow enough so we could travel to the event in the uk and return home. school closures, curfews and previously unimaginable changes to our everyday lives have significantly disrupted this academic year. this has had a massive psychological effect on everyone, so it was more important than ever to ensure that cybercenturion didn’t stop for us, and i couldn’t be more proud of our students who showed plenty of grit and determination to keep on going. and the kids kept their requests modest throughout the online qualifying rounds, a coffee machine and a microwave for popcorn topped the list of essentials!” gibraltar digital skills foundation and gibraltar cyber challenge rock defenders “such expensive and large scale projects would not get any traction without a good track record. i owe it to every student who has been part of our journey that has allowed us to prosper and grow, reaching out to more and more youngsters who may have true talent and now have the chance to shine. later this year, the bayside school will launch the first ever gibraltar cyber challenge, rock defenders. this competition will engage over 1000 comprehensive students and equip them with the tools and skills to go on to compete in the likes of cybercenturion. rock defenders has gained significant interest from sponsors including e&y, hm government gibraltar, gibtelecom and royal gibraltar police, as well as global community for entrepreneurs, startup grind gibraltar, with plans to expand into more british overseas territories in future. 18

cybercenturion vii: spotlight case study first time competitor reva banthiya is a first-time finalist this year, competing as part of team bitm4p from north london collegiate school. for her, cybercenturion has provided limitless opportunities to learn throughout an otherwise more challenging academic year. here’s her firsthand account of the experience: tell me a little bit about what inspired you to take part in cybercenturion i heard about cybercenturion through cyber discovery last year, everyone there said how competitive and how much fun it was. what 3 words would you use to describe your experience competing this year? exhilarating. fun. unique. on a scale of 1-10, how challenging did you find the rounds? in my opinion, the increase in difficulty was pretty sharp. round 1 could be anywhere from a 3-5 depending on experience, and round 3 would definitely be hitting the top of the scale. did you learn new skills, what were they? yes - so many! i knew almost nothing about how to audit, change password policies on the command line, powershell commands to complete a host of different tasks, regex - the list is long! tell us an anecdote... all of a sudden, a loud siren went off during round 2. we thought it was the school alarm and were preparing to evacuate when we realised it was actually coming from the laptop, which was on full volume! will you take part in more competitions like this in future? given that none of us anticipated getting close to finalist status this year, we’re all very excited to do this again next year; armed with a host of new skills, techniques and good memories. what advice would you give to anyone considering taking part, or anyone who is convinced cyber security isn’t for them? go for it! you don’t need to know a lot about computers or be an experienced programmer to start - i certainly wasn’t. cyber security is such a broad field; from forensics to web application attacking, you may find you like one aspect of cyber security a lot more than others. do stem subjects feature in your future plans? i’ve picked three stem subjects and a language for my a levels next year. i’m keen to have a balanced timetable that also lets me keep up with other interests. after that, i’m hoping to study computer science or something similar at university. l-r reva banthiya, sarina kenward, jenny zhan, kaitlyn chan 20

n team leaders o i r u t n e c r e b y c 22

cybercenturion vii: leading a remote team leading a team remotely: george omnet and cybersensation congratulations to ex-competitor, george omnet, who successfully led his team to the national finals this year after two years taking part in the competition itself, and collecting trophies both times! for george, working as a virtual team was nothing new - in fact he makes it all sound very easy! read on for george’s inside scoop on keeping team cybersensation motivated all the way to the end. q: tell me a little about how you discovered cybercenturion and what your experience competing has been like. a: cybercenturion is one of the best options out there for students with an interest in cybersecurity. i was a competitor two years ago with one team, and then again last year with a different team - we reached the finals both years and took home a trophy, too. i’m now too old to compete, so i stepped up as team leader and have loved the opportunity to continue to work with my friends and fellow teammates this way. q: how did your experience as a competitor differ from being team leader? a: as the team’s mentor, i’ve done my best with this year’s competitors to help explain some key parts that often get overlooked. however, the challenge is all about learning to figure things out for yourself. it really is one of the best ways to learn about cyber security. as much as possible, i just let them get on with it! q: has it been more challenging with a fully remote competition this year? a: the teams i competed with in the past were primarily remote, or virtual, so we’ve been used to communicating online and sharing screens throughout the online qualifying rounds. the main difference is that the national finals was virtual this year, and normally we’d all meet up face to face for that and get the chance to meet other teams too. for now, we were just pleased that cybersensation were able to get together in one room for the finals event, even if it was just the five of us. q: how valuable is it for students to take part in cybercenturion? a: from a technical standpoint, a lot of what you learn through cybercenturion is fundamental to computer science. a lot of the stuff that i’ve covered has become immediately useful in my broader studies and interests linked to computer science. if you tried to teach students the theory without the immersive element of actually participating in the competition, both the teacher and student would struggle. there are always changes being made to keep the machines fresh, which plays a big part in your learning, and being able to understand what does what, and what the impact is. q: what’s been the highlight of the competition this year as a team leader? a: we had some surprises where a couple members of our team just blitzed through the machines. that was really cool to see and fun to be a part of. q: what advice would you give to anyone considering registering a team for cybercenturion? a: don’t be intimidated by the range of operating systems and new technology. there are so many amazing resources for picking up the basics of linux or windows. if you search for cyberpatriot resources, there’s a huge amount, and they’re linked to cybercenturion. start with a basic checklist that somebody else has done, then work your way through it to gain an understanding. then you can start developing your own lists. 24

team leader shoutouts: andrew johnson the studio max bairstow virtual team alan crosby luton sixth form college alice kupara the peterborough school stewart harrison danielle mckernan bayside school, gibraltar st patricks academy, ni andrew dax queen annes school dr a webb cheltenham ladies colleger pippa lewty reigate grammar school cybercenturion team leaders play the most important role in making this programme the success that it continues to become. we’d like to extend a very special thanks to all the team leaders who have led this year’s competitors through the seventh edition of cybercenturion, in especially challenging circumstances relating to covid-19. without your enthusiasm, commitment and support that you provide to each and every student and cadet who signs up for this challenge, simply none of it would be possible. throughout this year’s online qualifying rounds, we were delighted to be able to recognise a handful of team leaders at random with some small prizes, they’re listed below. and as competitors inevitably outgrow the senior age category, we hope to see more of these young cyber stars go on to become team leaders in the future. 26

cybercenturion vii: team leader charlaine richards charlaine richards charlaine richards is head of computer science and ict at st augustine’s catholic college, trowbridge, and a serial cybercenturion team leader. miss richards joined our esteemed panel for the official cybercenturion vii press conference back in october 2020. six months on, we caught up with her to hear about her teams’ most recent experience, and recap on what it means to get involved in cybercenturion as a teacher. “it’s become one of the most popular things that we do in our school, and we love that it’s accessible to everyone. we started out with two teams, one all boys team and our cybercenturion v all girls category winners, little miss virtuals. the girls made it to the finals with their first attempt at the competition, and we haven’t looked back.” miss richards explained that she was looking for something different for her young cyber stars to graduate to after they took part in cyber first and enjoyed it so much. “the boys caught on and were even jealous that the girls were doing so well. this year we entered a record of seven teams from year 9 all the way up to year 12, including three all girls teams, one mixed team, and three all boys teams.” “we were initially looking for different competition-based opportunities because they’re things that we can’t offer in school. a cybersecurity competition is not something we can teach. we’re not allowed to go into the network side of things like that in schools. cybercenturion gives students an opportunity to investigate an area that they may not have even thought of before.” miss richards explained that getting set up is easier than you might think. “there are just two of us in our department, but it was relatively easy to install the virtual machines and ensure one of the it support staff was on call should anything come up.” a team leader’s main responsibility is to provide encouragement and act as a point of contact for the competition organisers. “once you’re set up, everything is ready to go the following year - don’t let that part put you off. for me it’s really worth taking these opportunities to give pupils the real-world experience that they just can’t get in a classroom. and if we don’t put the effort in and go that extra mile as teachers, the students aren’t going to think it’s worth taking part.” “cybercenturion became a special occasion on a friday once a month for three months, when we made sure rooms were booked out for the students to compete during the virtual live rounds. we were quite lucky for the first few years to be able to have it in just two rooms which created an amazing buzz, spurred them on and made it very competitive. this year was different, but the students learned a lot about working in a different environment, making it another very positive year for all our students.” “as teachers it is our job to provide sustenance and to keep energy levels up, which is easy when you see how much the students are really loving the experience, experimenting, working for points. then it’s a case of letting them get on with it. they really enjoy that independence, too. some were so keen to stay to score points they’d even miss their bus to go home!” this was little miss virtuals’ last year competing all together in the senior age category, and though they didn’t make it to the national finals, it’s certainly been a memorable year to finish on. miss richards added: “it’s a massive morale boost for students to meet experienced professionals at the national finals, as well as meeting the other kids taking part, and really knowing they are amongst the best of the best at that moment.” “as a computer science teacher, i didn’t realise how fascinating cyber security can be until the school signed up for cybercenturion. it’s inspired me just as much as our students, and we will always look back fondly on our past experiences to date.” 28

3 0 cybercenturion p r e s s

cybercenturion vii: press release students participate in first ever virtual cybercenturion national finals demonstrate their cyber security skills are out of this world • fifteen teams of young people from across the uk, isle of man and gibraltar met virtually to compete for the national title of cybercenturion vii winners on thursday 29 april. • this year’s finalists represent an outstanding competition season in which more than ever took part virtually, demonstrating grit and determination against hundreds of technically-skilled students and cadets to secure their place. • hosted online for the first time ever, the specially developed cyber frontier game challenges competitors to address simulated cyber security risks targeting advanced and highly sensitive systems in the space industry. 32

cybercenturion vii: background brought to you by northrop grumman, designed by the air force association and delivered by cyber security challenge uk cybercenturion is the sister competition to the us cyberpatriot competition run by the air force association. in 2020, cyberpatriot celebrated its 10th year and this year marks the seventh edition of cybercenturion. the competition is open to residents in the uk and british overseas territories who meet the age criteria. team leaders must be over 18, can lead up to five teams, and each team must consist of four people with optional reserves. led by northrop grumman, the company is committed to building tomorrow’s cyber workforce through advanced cyber education, developing a cyber research consortium with leading uk universities and offering its own cyber academy worldwide. northrop grumman is a member of cyberfirst and cyberinvest, and leads cybercenturion, the cyber defence competition for 12-18 year olds. addressing the global cyber skills gap cybercenturion aims to engage thousands of talented young people with the opportunities and career paths open to them in cyber security as they make important choices about gcse subjects and higher education. competitors and team leaders do not require prior experience to take part, and thus the competition attracts cadet corps, scout groups and girl guides, as well as school clubs and community groups. cybercenturion seeks to encourage young talent to develop and demonstrate their technical cyber security skills in a series of testing virtual competition rounds before the top 15 teams come together to battle it out for the title at the national finals face to face event. the ultimate prize is a trip to washington dc with northrop grumman where the winning team gets to experience industry first-hand. this year’s theme is cyber security in space, following retail and industry 4.0 in recent years. diversity in cyber security cybercenturion is committed to providing equal opportunities across the socio-economic sector, is free to enter and travel expenses are paid to the national finals. the competition is split into two age ranges (aged 12-15 and 15-18) and four categories (all girls, all boys, mixed, cadets). the competition aims to help inspire young people, both who possess an existing interest in cyber security, as well as those who have no prior experience, to realise how many rewarding and lucrative further education and career options await them in cyber security. offering a rich learning experience, the competition also supports the development of soft skills including leadership, communication and teamwork in a dynamic setting - enabling participants to hone a broad range of abilities now highly sought after in the cyber security industry, where the need for a more diverse workforce has been recognised. cybercenturion supports a number of other uk government run initiatives including cyberdiscovery and gchq’s cyber first programme. it’s likely you’ll find the same avid competitors taking part in all three. 34

cybercenturion vii: press launch highlights celebrating diversity in cyber: highlights from the cybercenturion vll launch event on tuesday 6 october 2020 we officially launched cybercenturion vii, with a fantastic panel who shared their experiences of stem, cyber security and the competition itself. my cybercenturion experience nitya sri adapala, two-time cybercenturion finalist and member of the best all girls team 2018. reconvened at weekends to present back to the rest of the group. i was leading on the ubuntu linux virtual operating system and researching ways to resolve vulnerabilities that might come up in the competition rounds. this is how we built up our knowledge and bonded as a team. it was great to feed off each other’s passion. “at the tiffin girls’ school, traditionally few have been interested in subjects like physics or computer science. our success in cybercenturion and going on to set up the computer science society (now 25 strong) has inspired others in years below, and we went from six people in my year taking computer sciencea level to 18 the following year. “it’s rare to find an opportunity where you can develop soft skills, such as teamwork, as well as technical skills, and i think this is why we’ve managed to inspire so many others at my school. “it’s a huge sense of achievement for me personally that i’ve helped encourage more girls to choose stem subjects, and i’m sure our team’s legacy will continue to inspire many more in future.” “the hands-on experience was the part i most looked forward to. each week we did our own research and 36

cybercenturion vii: spotlight case study: little miss virtuals birthday celebrations go ahead despite lockdown thanks to cybercenturion little miss virtuals category: all girls age group: senior school: st augustine’s catholic college, trowbridge this year was little miss virtuals last year competing as a team of four before they’ll go their separate ways to pursue various higher education options, and though they didn’t make it to the national finals, it’s marked an important milestone in their secondary education. and their team name couldn’t be more relevant this time around! here’s what they had to say. “our cybercenturion vii experience was still really positive despite covid-19 restrictions. the opportunity to get together in person to play the qualifying rounds was something to look forward to amidst the uncertainty around lockdown measures” - and it was a bit of luck that two of the girls even celebrated their birthdays during the rounds. we couldn’t think of a better way to fuel those high scores than with a few slices of birthday cake! for each of the girls, a career in cyber security now represents a great option that previously, they probably would never have considered. “the practical skills learned during the competition certainly come in useful in computer science lessons and exams, as well as everyday life. now, family members are always asking us to help with enabling two-factor authentication, back ups and all- important updates!” future plans for the girls include taking a levels in the likes of maths, chemistry, economics, and computer science, as well as pursuing careers in medicine and computer science, where without a doubt they will put their experience they’ve gained from cybercenturion, like solving complex technical challenges and working together as a team, to very good use. interest in taking computer science continues to grow as younger year groups and competitor siblings also get involved in cybercenturion, with a close to 50/50 split of girls and boys now in the class. “but we’re not quite ready to let the boys into our track record for success in the competition. you’ll always find us representing the all girls category!” in the short term, some of the girls are signed up for cyber first futures and plan to go on to do cyber first careers after that, and all of these extra-curricular activities leave them strides ahead of their peers in terms of growing their network outside of school. “there’s something about collecting the whole set of certifications that’s a great motivator!” and as charlotte, naimh, joccoaa, rachel and grace prepare to go their separate ways for what’s next, it seems cybercenturion will remain a fantastic way to stay in touch. in the words of little miss virtuals’ team leader and head of computer science at st. augustine’s catholic college, miss richards, “as we see younger year groups coming up and getting more involved in these subjects, we call it the cyber adventure. we’ve welcomed our highest ever number of students into computer science this year, and we’re anticipating enough next year to warrant splitting it into two classes.” “ we felt really great when we actually managed to work things out on our own that even the school’s it team admitted they’d never seen before.” 38