Student Hackers Take Prizes At Cybersecurity Competition

LIVERMORE, CA — Yes, students in the Granada High School Cybersecurity Club could probably crack your password and get access to your personal files. But don't worry — they're the good guys.

© Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District
Granada High's first place team, Code Red, busy at work.

The club's Code Red and Cyber Ducks teams took first and third places, respectively, at the Bay Area Regional Cybersecurity Competition's Bug Bounty, an invitation-only competition between the region's top 16 cybersecurity teams, said the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District in a press release. Granada High's teams qualified after performing well in local competitions held in recent months.

Competitors ranged from middle schoolers to community college students. They sought to find vulnerabilities in ATMs and passwords in order to report bugs and improve the system.

“Communication was just as important as finding vulnerabilities," said club co-president Molly McClaren in the press release. "Our key to success was communicating what we found with our teammates and communicating with the judges in a simple, effective and professional way."

Students were collaborative and supportive of each other, said club advisor and Granada High information technology teacher Miguel Baez in the press release. Students also learn computational thinking and public speaking, which will do them well in their professional careers, he said.

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