There’s a battle brewing in the computers of the Butte Public Library. It’s up to your teens to stop the hackers by becoming hackers.
Axel Samano is an ethical hacker.
Ever since Samano was a teenager, she had a fascination with the language of computers.
"My professor was teaching me how to do some coding using Qbasic and DOS, and that intrigued me a lot because my professor said that’s the way a computer talks. So by learning a different language, which is DOS, kind of gave me the tool to learn how to do HTML, SQL databases," said Samano.
The ethical hacking class will teach teens the language of computers and how to access a computer’s database and to see what vulnerabilities there are.
According to EC-Council, ethical hacking is the process of detecting vulnerabilities in an application, system, or organization’s infrastructure that an attacker can use to exploit an individual or organization.
An ethical hacker, also known as a white hat hacker, is hired by organizations to find faults in their database’s security system. They also provide solutions for fixing the vulnerability.
"In a few words, we are giving the kids tools to fight the hackers," said Samano.
But working against the class is the nefarious company Aquapond that wants to gain access to the library’s computers. It’s up to the class to stop the fictitious company and hack into their database to get the information to the police.
"So of course, it’s kind of like an epic battle that we are fighting against Aquapond, which is a bad company," said Samano.
Samano says that teens will learn more about how computers function.
"And for the parents, don’t worry. They are not going to do anything illegal or anything like that. We are just giving the tools to the kids to learn how a computer talks," said Samano.
Classes are held every Thursday on the second floor of the Butte Public Library.
For more details on the class, call the Butte Public Library at (406) 723-3361.
