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Posted on June 27th 2019
Cyber Crime Careers Trip to Metropolitan Police
Our Computer and ICT Department recently organised a careers trip for our boys to the Metropolitan Police Cyber Unit, where they learned about cyber crime and how the police combat this type of crime, and also use cyber skills themselves in their police work.
The day was a fascinating insight into the many career opportunities in the world of computing and cyber skills.
What students said…
“It was really cool listening to the police talk about the real world of hackers and how they deal with them.” Ahmed, Year 9
“It was really fun because we go to learn something new and find out information about future careers.” Mohi, Year 9
“I got the chance to learn about something I have not before and overall it was a fun day, I really enjoyed doing the Lego set which was like a solving real cybercrime issue.” Mohamed, Year 9
“Such a good experience for my current course. Practising how cyber specialists deal with real life situations was really fascinating.” Chernor, Year 9
Daniel, Year 9, reports...
Daniel Scott, Year 9, has written a great write-up about the day. Thanks, Daniel!
Everyone was excited. We left the school in high spirits around 11:50. We journeyed to the nearest bus stop and boarded a bus. We made it to Vauxhall by around 12:30 and with plenty of time to spare we entered the police station and collected our lanyards before marching through the station to what looked like a conference room.
We were greeted by two police officers, one a constable and another a detective. The constable talked a bit to us about cyber crime and what that covers. He talked to us about the dangers of cyber crime but also about some of the careers that revolve around some form of computing or cyber skills. He also explained the different types of cyber criminals from expert hackers to ‘script kiddies’ who simply utilise pre-fabricated malware to deal damage.
How police user cyber skills
The detective talked to us about the ways the police utilise cyber skills and he talked about the ways people could get into healthy, legal cyber activities and potentially create an amazing career for free. He also talked to us about the way the police and other companies prevent people, usually kids, getting in trouble with the law and instead help them use their amazing skills for good instead of for crime.
After that we had a another police officer that worked against cyber crime talk to us about a real case study about a man who taught himself these skills and instead of using them in a high-paying job he used them for crime and got himself a ten year prison sentence. This man was attempting to sell bank details that he acquired through illegal means online. He made an algorithm that would shove passwords and usernames into a login site and if he gained access he would harvest information on that person and sell it to them.
Cyber game
The day was finished off by playing a game. We were made in charge of a company that had no protection, whether that was from the looming threat of hackers or from criminals. This game taught us what companies face and what to prioritise when seeking to defend against cyber threats.
After that we left the station and headed back to school. It was an interesting and educational experience that benefited all in attendance.
Daniel, Year 9
