What is GenCyber?

California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), in partnership with the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council (GSSGC), hosts a five-day GenCyber summer camp for middle and high school girls from San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The goals of the program are to increase interest in cybersecurity careers and diversity in the workforce of the Nation, help all students understand safe online behavior, and how to be a good digital citizen. GenCyber at CSUSB is a service-oriented outreach program, seeking to provide education and career opportunities for girls in the Inland Empire.

CSUSB's GenCyber increases interest in cybersecurity through engaging and dynamic instruction, including role-playing, visual aids, hands-on activities, and discussion groups in both indoor and outdoor locations around campus. During the camp, girls learn about a variety of technical concepts, including networking, systems security, cyber operations and defense, and virtual reality. A highlight of the instruction is the drone programming and piloting module. In addition to technical concepts, girls learn the importance of personal online safety, the dangers of information sharing, and how to be a good digital citizen.

During the week, the girls have the opportunity to learn about careers in cybersecurity from real-life cyber industry professionals from companies such as Facebook, Google, IBM, Bank of America, Red Hat, Northrop Grumman, and the Department of Homeland Security. Since 2015, over 1400 Girl Scouts have participated in GenCyber and over 300 students from CSUSB have contributed more than 4600 volunteer hours to help make GenCyber a success.