CyberFirst is a programme of opportunities helping young people in the UK explore their passion for tech by introducing them to the world of cyber security. It is run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, with a range of cyber security events, courses, competitions, placements and bursary schemes.
This is the third year that the NICS has worked in partnership with NCSC to provide summer placements for the CyberFirst program. The 8-week summer work-training placement program offers CyberFirst students from all over the UK a chance to work with IT security teams across government and industry.
This is the first time NICS hosted two local CyberFirst students from Queens University Belfast along with an undergraduate student from London. Nathan, James and Nathan spent their summer working in the IT security teams of Department of Finance, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and Department for Infrastructure. Each student worked on a number of IT security projects and tasks alongside their team. They explored development cycles, coding, agile working, setting up “honey-pot” traps for security detection systems, IT health checks, IT system management, user account management and many more.
Here is what they have experienced in NICS Departments in summer 2022.
Nathan, DoF Cyber Security Team
I had a fantastic time getting the opportunity to partake in the 8-week long placement with the NICS.
I got the chance to work with some cutting edge technology and getting the ability to see some of the inner workings of the security systems.
I really enjoyed getting to meet the team and getting the chance to take part in the projects, this was an excellent opportunity.
James, DAERA Team SHIELD
I loved my time at DAERA, working with real-world tools to solve real-world issues around Active Directory and Joiners, Movers and Leavers.
I was able to build a portal which can be used to search for and view users’ security groups, view their account info and a basic documentation system for Active Directory groups. This portal was able to make a start at addressing some of the key issues identified with the current system. In the future, this portal will be expanded and adapted in order to address further issues and has the potential to be a NICS wide-solution, not just scoped to DAERA.
Getting experience with tools like SonarQube, Azure DevOps and WhiteSource Bolt was a lot of fun and incredibly insightful. I learnt so much in my short 8 weeks and will be taking my lessons forward with me throughout my career. I have implemented some of the technologies I have learnt into my own projects!
Thank you to everyone in Team SHIELD for their help and support throughout the placement!
Nathan, DfI IT Security Team
I worked on the admin account review project, IT health checks and ITSO requests. I had the chance to liaise with the CHECK consultants on the pen test and explore ITHC remediation for DfI IT systems.
I enjoyed this placement and have multiple points to add to my overall knowledge and understanding of key aspects in cyber security.
Parents in NICS are welcome to encourage their children to participate in the CyberFirst program.
Further information
For further information of CyberFirst program, please visit: