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Get to Know Cyber Dragons
Get to Know Cyber Dragons
This is the third, and final, article of the Code Club series of Meet the Team, published ahead of the charity’s trip to the CyberCenturion National Finals on the 20th of April. Today, we’re with Cyber Dragons, the club’s first ever All-Girls team. The team is made up out of four girls from schools across the island who all love computing. Chevonne O’Boyle, Code Club’s PR Coordinator, and Adam Drummond, one of the club’s Team Leaders, sat down with the team to find out how they’re preparing for their first ever trip to the national finals.
ARISTEA
Owenson
8 years at Code Club
2nd CyberCenturion
Fun Fact: She’s just a fun person
Balley Sallagh
Wants to be rich
ARWEN
Hoile
1 year at Code Club
1st CyberCenturion
Fun Fact: Manx Dancer
Balley Sallagh
Wants to be a helicopter pilot
CLARE
Farnworth
3 years at Code Club
2nd CyberCenturion
Fun Fact: Last year she was in a team with all boys
Doolish
Wants to be a mathematician when they grow uh
ERA
Clements
8 years at Code Club
5th CyberCenturion
Fun Fact: Era once flew an aeroplane
Purt le Moirrey
They want to travel the world when they are older.
An Introduction to CyberCenturion, the Finale
Adam:
If you haven’t read the first or sequel to the introduction to CyberCenturion, make sure to check out the past two weeks’ posts (Meet the Team: I am Root and So, Who Are CyberAces?) to get an overview of the entire year as well as the individual competition rounds. At the end of each of the qualifying rounds, all teams are given a score based on the number of vulnerabilities they found, forensics questions answered correctly, and problems solved. These scores vary wildly from round to round, with some challenges being worth five points in the first round, and then only one or two in the third round.
The scores across the three rounds are added up, with 100 points per machine, and this year there were six machines across the three rounds. To qualify for the final, teams had to either be the top of their age and division (e.g., top senior boys; top junior boys) or be within the next top six teams (senior) or next best top team (junior). Our three finalist teams all got top of their age and division categories this year. Coming up next week, I will be sharing some more information about Code Club, what else we do, and more information about the upcoming trip to the finals.
Question and Answer with the Team
Chevonne:
I would love to welcome you all here today, and firstly congratulate you all. In eight years, that the club has been taking part in this competition, you are our first ever All-Girls team. Such a prestigious achievement and you should all be very proud of the work you have put in to get here. We are all women in STEM, so how does it feel to be the first Manx team to get this status?
EC:
It’s really a shame that it’s taken such a long time for an All-Girls team to finally get together and succeed. In previous years, we have always been placed into mixed gender teams. The first year we were finally put together, we made it to the finals. It feels great!
Chevonne:
I am so glad you feel that way, especially given that I was in a mixed team previously. How would you explain CyberCenturion to a friend who has never seen the competition before?
AO:
CyberCenturion is a computing competition you can go to England for. In the competition, you can work with your teammates to do great things.
AH:
It’s a competition where you work together to race to make something secure in a cyber sense.
CF:
Six hours long, an all-day competition, looking for things which shouldn’t be on a computer. When you get invited to the finals, you finally feel like you did something.
EC:
In the competition, you’re given a scenario on a virtual machine which has vulnerabilities that need to be discovered, for which you can earn points. There are three rounds where your points are added together, and if you earn enough you can qualify for the national finals.
Chevonne:
You all explain it so well. What have you done to prepare for the CyberCenturion National Finals, how have you practiced and what have you taken on for this?
AO:
It is important to make sure that we get a full night’s sleep to prepare ahead of competition rounds.
CF:
I have loaned a book to Arwen to help her learn some Ubuntu techniques.
AH:
We did some independent and some group study. We also used an online site called Hack The Box [like the Boys teams] as practice material and learning courses.
EC:
I have been doing online Capture the Flag challenges [a vulnerabilities hunt] and looked back to previous competition scenarios.
Chevonne:
Let’s hope that all that work you’ve done pays off. Having not been to the finals before, is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to whilst you’re away?
EC:
I’m looking forward to the experience and the challenge. I have heard it gets much harder at the finals compared to the competition rounds.
CF:
The experience of doing it, being there.
AH:
Spending time with friends on my team, visiting the museums whilst we’re in Manchester.
Chevonne:
On a different note, what do you enjoy doing at Code Club?
AO:
Helping the younger children with Scratch coding.
EC:
I enjoy the conversations I have with Code Club volunteers as they are always open to answer questions I have about cyber security or any IT related issue.
CF:
Watching the 3d printers work and seeing what they make, as well as other non-technical activities.
AH:
The World Robotics Olympiad [more on that next week!], helping with the younger ones as a Junior Volunteer, learning to use Raspberry Pis and soldering.
Chevonne:
Wow! There certainly is a lot going on at Code Club nowadays. How did you find the qualifying rounds; what did you learn?
CF:
We did well in the first one, decent in the second and then the last one was a tough challenge. I use Ubuntu at home, so I had some experience with the operating system outside of the competition.
EC:
Round three was the hardest, however I learned that these harder issues are what real businesses face day to day.
AO:
They were fun, I learned how to do user and group account management, the graphical user interface stuff, which nobody else really wants to do.
AH:
The third round was tough. We learned teamwork skills. As someone who hadn’t done it before, it was a new experience for me to learn everything.
Chevonne:
I’m glad to see the progress you made over the year. What would it mean to you to win the competition?
AO:
The prize would be great. I would be happy.
CF:
It would be a great thing to put on my university application and my CV. It means I can officially say to other teams that I have beat them, for real.
AH:
It would be a big thing since it’s the first time we’ve done it as a team together, and my first time ever competing.
EC:
I’m not bothered about whether we win or not. I’m there for the experience.
Chevonne:
Are you going to win?
TEAM:
Definitely!
Chevonne:
Finally, is there anything else you want to add?
AH:
Thanks to Clare for lending me a thick book on Ubuntu.
AO:
Thanks to Code Club for everything they’ve provided to us over the competition.
About Code Club
Code Club is a Manx educational charity (number 1322) focussed on empowering individuals in the technological space. They aim to provide a focal point for people of all ages to develop digital skills, share their knowledge and experience, and to teach others how to leverage the technology that surrounds them.
Every week, Code Club hosts sessions to provide a space for students to learn about STEM topics. For more information about the club or CyberCenturion at Code Club, contact hello@codeclub.im, visit their Facebook page (Isle of Man Code Club) or drop-in to any of their Saturday sessions at Barclays Eagle Lab in Douglas, from 4-6pm. If you are interested in helping with sponsorship, please contact sponsorship@codeclub.im.
Code Club is a charity registered in the Isle of Man. Our aim is to increase digital literacy and empower people to use the technology that surrounds us.
You can support what we're doing by becoming a Code Club Member today. Membership is only £10 a year!
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