![]() ![]() If there is a connection, teachers seem to find it manageable. "That’s like saying a carpentry class will teach someone to be a serial killer. ![]() "I’m not concerned they will use this for evil," Herzog says. That might seem to some to open Pandora’s box, but for Herzog, the risk of vulnerability outweighs the threat of students becoming hackers in the bad sense. Another student, who prefers using his online handle, JFFTantra, calls the material "indispensable" and says it has deepened his understanding.Īn effort is under way to make the HHS program required in all high schools throughout Switzerland. "It’s helped me a lot in my learning," he says. Dimas Galih Adrianto, a student from La Salle, says the program has brought a necessary freshness to computer studies and, most important, stimulated his interest in programming. In addition to updating the lesson plans, Herzog and Abella are hosting HHS intensive training sessions at La Salle for high school students from around Spain. With everyone spending more and more time online, the need for computer security knowledge is only increasing. "It gives them a safe place to try things," Herzog says. ![]() A additional set of rack-mounted servers, donated by Dreamlab Technologies, of Switzerland, are housed at La Salle. Herzog built it himself out of a motley collection of personal computers by adding a backup power supply, five Ethernet cards, and 4 gigabytes of RAM running a variety of operating systems. Students investigate problems on a test network that HHS has created. They must also determine how Code Red, Nimda, and other famous worms exploited software vulnerabilities. For a lesson on malware, students go online to find examples of boot sector, polymorphic, and macro viruses. That same lesson may also ask them to contrast opposing views on technological openness from Phil Zimmermann, creator of the Pretty Good Privacy software (better privacy through better cryptography) and science fiction author David Brin (computers have killed privacy get over it). A lesson on e-mail security, for example, teaches students to identify the level of cryptography used in their own messaging program. The entire coursework-a dozen lessons in all-can be completed in as little as six weeks.Įxercises test students’ understanding of the material on multiple levels. The syllabus begins by introducing students to the concept of ethical hacking and continues with such topics as ports and protocols, attack analysis, and digital forensics. "A lot of computer science classes make students look up answers themselves," Herzog says, "but if you know what you’re looking for, you’ll only find what you expect." To participate, teachers need Internet-connected computers and the HHS lesson plans, which are available for free online. Rather than function as a textbook course, HHS stresses exploration and innovation. Jaume Abella, a professor of engineering at La Salle, says Hacker High School is an effective way to both attract students into the field of computer security and educate them about the line between legal and illegal hacking. The group worked with an academic partner, La Salle Ramon Llull University, in Barcelona, as well as the open-source community online. The goal was to equip kids with the means to defend themselves against ID theft, malware, and other online attacks. Over 100 schools around the world are already on board. Despite its name, the program is designed to be used by elementary and middle schools as well. Herzog launched the Hacker High School curriculum in 2004, with funds from ISECOM and fees from OSSTMM certifications. "For us, it’s about really deeply understanding something operationally so you can manipulate it the way you want to." "A lot of young people had no clue about what hacking really was," Herzog says. Its adoption brought to light a similar need at the educational level. The group’s Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual OSSTMM) is now a widely used standard, particularly in South America and Europe. It grew out of the Ideahamster Organization, an online community of engineers with a tongue-in-cheek name for the people responsible for innovation.Īfter disseminating their own security solutions, the group began a certification and training program for businesses, schools, and government agencies that’s been used by organizations as large as Wal-Mart and the U.S. In 2001, following stints as an engineer for Intel and IBM, Herzog applied his do-it-yourself ethos to launching the Institute. Even his toy cars didn’t go unhacked-he once put a solar panel on one. As a child, he was a self-trained hacker. ![]()
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