Hackathon brings together minority students in cyber security competition
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Whether it’s personal, business or government, hackers have successfully gotten past computer security systems across the country and here in South Carolina. Cybercrime is a costly problem, and that’s why cyber security is such an important field.
To encourage more students of color to enter this line of work, minority students and students from HBCUs competed in a Hackathon. The event took place November 5 at Denmark Technical College in Bamberg County.
The statewide initiative is designed to engage minority students with cyber security and the computer science industry.
Congratulations to students from Trident Technical College. They took first place in the competition. Other winners included Denmark Technical College, Morris College, and Benedict College.
This is a new program sponsored by the South Carolina Commerce Relentless Challenge Grant, South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs, and Advanced Technology International. ATI is based in Summerville and brings together business and academia to solve real world challenges for the federal government.
The students took part in a nine-month mentorship program, which included a weeklong session in Charleston.
The keynote speaker at the Hackathon was cybercrime expert Frank Abagnale who lives in Charleston. You may remember Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed Abagnale in the movie depicting his real-life story ‘Catch Me If You Can.’
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