Two teams from Martin Luther King High School in Riverside will compete later this month in a statewide competition that seeks to identify and enhance methods of protecting privacy in cyberspace.
The 2018 California Cyber Innovation Challenge is slated for June 23-24 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
The contest is being jointly sponsored by the campus and the governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development.
The Martin Luther King High School students and their peers from 15 other high schools have been sharpening their coding, programming and cyber forensics skills in a variety of events to qualify for participation in the challenge.
“As cyber-security becomes increasingly important to protect public and personal data, these 20 teams from all over California represent the state’s ongoing investment in this field,” said Panorea Avdis, director of the Office of Business & Economic Development.
“(We are) proud to join with our partners at California Workforce Development Board and Cal Poly (to) host an event for these students to demonstrate their talent and skill.”
The competition will focus on developing effective practices to prevent security breaches of “connected devices” that could impact healthcare and infrastructure.
According to Avdis, the contest additionally provides a platform to train youths for technology careers and promote California as a leader in the internet security industry.
Martin Luther King High School was the only school in the Inland Empire to qualify for the statewide competition.
More information is available at cci.calpoly.edu/events/ccic.