The State of Delaware is being recognized for its work in the area of cyber security.
The SANS Institute, which specializes in cyber security training, named the First State one of the winners of its 2017 Difference Makers Awards.
“This award is from the SANS Institute and it recognized leadership across the nation for cyber security awareness and education and training. And specifically, it’s about a program that we participated in this summer called CyberStart,” said Elayne Starkey - chief security officer with the Delaware Department of Technology and Information.
Starkey says Delaware partnered with the SANS Institute on CyberStart last summer. It provided local high school juniors and seniors, and college students from Delaware or attending school here the opportunity to learn basic cyber security skills.
Students tested their aptitude through a online game. After a qualifying practice round, students were then able to compete for scholarships.
“It was a no-cost online game of discovery and Delaware numbers were through the roof. We had 359 students in just a short, six-week window. We had 359 students enrolled during summer. We had 47-percent of them qualify for the next round of the competition,” said Starkey.
Starkey says four Delaware high school and college students ranked in the top 50 nationally and 20 Delaware students won CyberStart scholarships for more advanced education in cyber security.
The state also bolstered its commitment to education in this area with a new law requiring Delaware public and charter high schools to offer at least one computer science course.
