In an annual event that could help shape the IT security field for the future, the 2014 HacKid conference took place over this past weekend, April 19-20 at San Jose’s Tech Museum of Innovation.  The focus of the conference was to provide hands-on experiences to kids aged 5-17 and their parents, to raise awareness and excitement around technology, safety, privacy, networking, security, engineering, gaming and mathematics. The conference is a registered California non-profit corporation and first took place in 2010 in Boston.  The two-day event featured about 30 sessions, interactive sessions including a number of educational and technical topics. The sold out event was put together by Chris Hoff, vice president, strategic planning, security business unit at Juniper Networks.

The idea for the conference revolved around providing an interactive, hands-on experience for kids and their parents which included things like:

• Staying Safe Online

• Dealing with CyberBullies

• Robotics

• Online gaming safety

• Building Medieval Trebuchets

• Interactive robot building

• How the Internet works

• Food Hacking

• Computerized Lego Derby racing

• Manipulating hardware and software for fun

• Low-impact martial arts/self-defense & anti-bullying techniques

• 3D Printing

• Learning to program in Scratch & Python

• …and much more!

On the VMblog, Hoff discussed how the conference first came together:

VMblog:  How did you come up with the idea for The HacKid Conference? Chris Hoff:  Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and at the same time, kids are using computers and devices at younger ages. So we started HacKid in 2010 in Boston, and the idea behind the conference was to gather industry experts to provide a hands-on, family experience to give kids that spark that will set them on a journey that only “hacking” can inspire. – VMBlog

Sponsored by Juniper Networks, Kaspersky Labs, Wickr and No Starch Press, Hoff also discussed the work it took to put this past weekend’s event together:

VMblog:  Who came together to organize this event? Hoff:  The HacKid Advisory Board is a group of people who regularly attend, speak at, and help organize large-scale and professional conferences, so we know what is required to ensure a smooth, enjoyable, interesting, and safe conference experience. We’ve also planned an event called DEF CON Kids, now called r00tz Asylum, which occurs in Vegas after the DEF CON security conference. For HacKids, we’ve recruited volunteers to lead sessions, and these session leaders are experts in their fields. We’ve also encouraged kids to lead sessions so they can share their knowledge. We’ve also had volunteers help to donate and set up equipment for the event, such imaging laptops, and setting up legos for a fully computerized lego derby race track.  Company sponsors include Juniper Networks, Kaspersky Labs, Wickr and No Starch Press. The conference is also made possible by generous family donations. – VMBlog

Another goal for the conference was diversity – in the past they have had a great mix of racial, cultural and gender diversity. They especially encourage girls to attend the event, and in fact the last one had 52 percent female attendees. Events and activities like these help promote a healthy ‘hack’ culture for generations to come. Website: http://www.hackid.org/content/

photo credits: poperotico via photopin cc, hackid