Updates: Week 1, Week 2, finished!

Internships are a crucial path into cybersecurity careers, often the first step on the ladder. They help students or those changing career to understand our field, gain practical knowledge, develop soft skills, and build their professional network.

In 2020, Coronavirus meant that this early career boost became inaccessible for many people. Lost Summer was an intervention to address this.

The problem

The financial and logistical impact of COVID has meant fewer summer internships, and some companies have even had to withdraw earlier offers. The impact of this “lost summer” will be significant: those missing out in 2020 will be at a serious disadvantage when they enter the market. The harm could last years, since their CVs will be weaker, their networks smaller, their skills less sharp.

The idea

The Lost Summer Bootcamp was a community effort which addressed the harm of lost internships in 2020.

A group of volunteers ran a multi-week cybersecurity bootcamp over 4 weeks in July and August, which provided many of the same benefits as an internship. Participants went through an intensive educational programme delivered by some of Ireland’s leading security practitioners. They also worked on practical challenges which stretched their technical skills and rounded out soft skills, which involved working closely with experienced professionals and learning the business context behind technical tasks. A set of hiring managers and recruiters also helped to polish CVs and LinkedIn profiles, demystify the hiring process, and help prepare participants for interviews.

The impact

The Lost Summer programme grew far beyond the scope originally envisioned: over 4 weeks it consisted of 44 educational sessions. These were delivered by 35 volunteers, many of whom delivered multiple talks. Some also helped supervise our 6 practical projects, which covered challenges in secure software development, malware analysis, cloud security, security event analysis, threat modelling, and third-party risk. The programme ended with a series of 1:1 career sessions: over 20 individual sessions, covering CV and LinkedIn assistance, interview tips, and general career advice.

Participants left Lost Summer with a far better understanding of cybersecurity, far better prepared to join the security field. They gained insights into current security challenges and performed realistic practical tasks alongside experienced volunteers. Equally important, participants boosted their professional networks, with new contacts across multiple companies and industries, as well as within the cohort of participants.

As an employer, if you see that a candidate completed the Lost Summer bootcamp, you should expect a broader and deeper understanding of security. You should find that those who completed Lost Summer understand areas of security which are not well-covered on academic programmes. You can also expect greater confidence throughout the recruiting process, and in their ability to begin professional security work.

The organisers & supporters

The Lost Summer Bootcamp was organised by Owen O’Connor and ISACA Ireland, with support from Cyber Ireland.

ISACA Ireland is a membership body for approximately 900 Irish professionals in security and related fields. It is part of a global community of over 145,000 members in 220 chapters worldwide.

Cyber Ireland is Ireland's national cyber security cluster, representing companies, universities, and colleges involved in security. It is supported by the Irish government, including by IDA Ireland.

The volunteers

The bootcamp was an entirely non-commercial, community-driven initiative, organised and delivered by volunteers. It was an opportunity for the Irish security community to give back, to pull others up behind us, into a career in our field.

Our volunteers were the heart of the project: 37 people with a fantastic range of career paths and breadth of experience. They gave up considerable time to benefit those entering the profession, and in doing so had a real impact on the future of the security profession in Ireland. They included:

Several of our volunteers took part in a purely personal capacity, but many were supported by their employers. Companies represented among the volunteers included the following:

The future

There has been some interest in repeating Lost Summer, or running something similar in future. However, there are no current plans. If you have ideas for such a programme, feel free to contact Owen O’Connor.