The Malta Independent | Thursday 3 September 2015
Meet the Trainers and the Gamers of the 2015 STEM Summer Club Karen Hautala Hili
M
ore than 400 students at 15 different summer clubs across Malta enjoyed the fun activities this year’s MITA STEM Summer Club had to offer. This would not have been possible without the talented students who were selected to work with MITA through the Student Placement Programme. In this article, we’ll get to know these talented and up-and-coming STEM educators and IT professionals. The STEM Club’s two game developers, Aaron and Kevin, are both MCAST students. Aaron, 24, is very ambitious and has just completed his HND Diploma in ICT Systems Support. He also has a background in Computer Engineering and wants to further his studies with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computer Systems and Networks at MCAST. He jumped at the opportunity to join the STEM Club in order to gain experience and learn more about the world of game development. For Aaron, knowing that students will
The STEM Club Summer Students Kevin, Aaron, Sarah, Julie Anne and Ethan learn something new by playing the game that he and Kevin are creating is the most fulfilling aspect of his job. He has also learned more about C# programming and the Unity Game Engine which they are using to develop the game. This new experience and knowledge will enhance his skill set and will prove very useful when seeking employment in the IT sector. His colleague Kevin, 19, is also following his passion for IT and Software Development by following a degree at MCAST. It came as no surprise that he chose to join MITA as a game developer and he considers it a great opportunity to further his studies and gain more experience in this field. Kevin’s favourite experience throughout this placement has been collaborating with IT experts and further enhancing his problem solving and teamwork skills. Through the
game development process, his coding and game development skills have greatly improved and he plans to use this to his advantage when applying for work in the software or web development field. Meanwhile in summer schools around Malta, STEM trainers Sarah, Ethan and Julie Anne, worked directly with hundreds of students to build rockets, boats, balloon-powered cars, program robots and conduct science experiments. All three trainers are about to enter their fourth year as Bachelor of Education in Science students at the University of Malta. Sarah and Julie Anne are specialising in Biology, whilst Ethan is specializing in Physics. Being Bachelor of Education students, they consider working at MITA as a STEM trainer as a golden opportunity to put in to practice what they have
learned over the past few years. Sarah’s favourite experience was teaching young students about science and watching them enjoy the activities. She realised that students need to be engaged in what they are doing and need someone who listens and appreciates their comments and suggestions. In her future as an educator, she aims to provide a positive learning experience for all her students. Even though sometimes students are not always interested in science, she still wants her students to look back and realise that they learned something new. Through her work, she spreads her enthusiasm for Biology to her students in the hopes that they will consider studying and specialising in biology. For Ethan, watching students create innovative new designs is something he thrives on. Seeing his students think outside the box is one of his satisfactions as a trainer and proves to him that his students are truly engaged. Through this experience, Ethan has learned not to
take anything for granted and that if you do things with care and passion, people will appreciate it deep down. He hopes to be an educator who helps students think on their own, rather than just to pass an exam. He believes that this will help them throughout their lives. Julie Anne has gained many positive experiences that will help her in her career as a Science and Biology educator. Watching the students discover new concepts and working with motivation is what fuelled her throughout the summer. She guided the students as they tried to complete their experiments and was happy when they persisted in making improvements on them. Julie Anne tried to mentor her students by giving them enough space and room for creativity. She was fascinated by how many different versions of the same experiment the students can come up with whilst still managing to achieve successful results. She is looking forward to a career as a Secondary School Biology or Science educator. Surely the hundreds of students in this year’s STEM Summer Club truly appreciate the hard work and dedication of these talented future IT and Education professionals. We wish them the best of luck in their studies and careers.
Public utilities, government attacks and targeted threats dominate the quarter The second quarter of 2015 was wrought with high profile vulnerabilities and hacks. Cybercriminals became more inventive in their attack methods to infiltrate and abuse existing technologies that are often overlooked. These developments are analysed in the Trend Micro Incorporated Q2 security roundup report, “A Rising Tide: New Hacks Threaten Public Technologies.” It details the evolution of tools and methods attackers use to get the greatest return on every cybercrime investment. “In the second quarter, we saw a shift in the threat landscape with cyber criminals becoming more sophisticated and creative, amplifying existing methods of attack, and using them in new ways,” said Raimund Genes, CTO, Trend Micro. “The ethereal outlook on the threat of cybercrime can no longer be held by the general population. This quarter demonstrated that the
potential damage caused by cyber attacks extends far beyond a simple software bug to hacks of airplanes, smart cars and television stations.” Hackers are taking more strategic approaches, refining their approach and targeting more selective victims to improve their infection rates. This is reflected by the exponential increase in the use of several traditional attack methods, including a 50% increase in the integration of the Angler exploit kit, a 67% growth in overall exploit kit-related
threats, and CryptoWall ransomware becoming highly targeted, with 79% of infections occurring in the U.S. Additionally, government entities in the U.S. have realised the full impact of cyberattacks during the second quarter with massive data breaches on both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in May and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management system in June. The latter data breach was the largest of its kind to date, exposing personally identifiable information of approximately 21 million indi-
viduals. Other government agencies were impacted by targeted campaigns using macro malware, new command and control (C&C) servers, and the continued use of newly exploited vulnerabilities and 0-days Pawn Storm. When looking at the Q2 threat landscape as a whole, the U.S. is a major player in both deploying and receiving various attacks, with malicious links, spam, C&C servers and ransomware are all having a major presence. Amongst others, the report highlights include: • Hacks causing disruptions to public utilities Broadcast networks, airplanes, automated vehicular systems and home routers pose not only the risk of malware infections, but physical inconveniences and threats. • Lone wolf cybercriminals gain notoriety via successful ransomware and PoS attacks FighterPoS and MalumPoS deployed by solo hackers, along with Hawkeye keylogger attacks, demonstrated that single individuals are capable of making a significant impact in today’s threat marketplace. • Government entities fight back against cybercrime
Roderick Spiteri
Roderick Spiteri is Marketing and Communications Manager at MITA and editor of Malta Independent ICT feature
W
hether you are fond of culture, you are into traditions or you’re into the partying scene, then this list is for you! Below is a list of eight sites highlighting every event happening on the Maltese islands. These websites are an eye opener to those who think that tiny Malta can be limited in the type of events organised. Some websites are similar in content, yet others are particular in the way it is presented. This is, by far, not a comprehensive list of sites that include an events section and we urge you that besides looking at these sites, you also search for others.
Karen Hautala-Hili is Project Leader at Digital Outreach, MITA
Interpol, Europol, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI all played a role in taking down longstanding botnet operations. Additionally, the indictment of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht brought to light the nebulous nature and dangers of the Dark Web. • National and political impacts were made by attacks on government organisations The attack on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management was a shocking realisation that no one’s personal data is safe. Macro malware, island-hopping and C&C servers were among the tactics used to target government data in this and similar breaches. • Public-facing websites and mobile devices were threatened in new ways While threats to software are always present, vulnerabilities in Web apps were proven to be just as dangerous. Attackers will leverage any vulnerability available and custom applications need custom security attention to ensure those entry points are eliminated. For the complete report, please visit: http://bit.ly/17rf4i2
The Malta Independent ICT Feature
T
his year’s STEM Summer Club was experienced by more than 400 students at 15 summer schools. In today’s feature we look at the five students who were engaged with MITA to work on this indicative during the summer. We meet the two students who developed a
STEM related computer game and also the three students who trained hundreds of children to create various STEM inspired projects. In this week’s feature we also look at some of the websites that provide a calendar of events of anything that happens in Malta, be it culture, parties, concerts, ex-
hibitions, theatre, etc. A new report has found that cyber criminals are becoming more inventive in their attack methods and are using methods which are often overlooked. Moreover, recent attacks on American Government entities have shown that no organisation is sheltered from such threats.
All ICT Features are available on www.mita.gov.mt/ictfeature
Keep up to date on events in Malta & Gozo
For more information www.mita.gov.mt/stemclub
New threats to public sectors
13
The Malta Independent | Thursday 3 September 2015
VisitMalta Visitmalta.com is the Malta Tourism Authorities’ (MTA) portal promoting Malta’s ‘traditional’ yearly events such as village festas, Carnival and Holy Week celebrations. The site enlists other events related to Malta’s performing art scene, theatre, opera and dance, mainly targeting those visiting the Mawltese islands, however it is a good point of reference for Maltese too. The site includes also a list of mobile apps related to Malta. Visit: www.visitmalta.com
What’s On This particular site gives a broader overview of what is happening on our shores. It not only includes a variety of events, but it even includes certain courses which might be of interest to the readers. So whether you are looking for some comic, drama or a concert, this is the site to look for. It is structured in a way that is user friendly. A particular characteristic to this site is that it is divided into different categories like sports, clubbing and fundraising. This helps the user to go on the kind of events s/he
is looking for. Visit: www.whatson.com.mt
MyDestination This site is mainly focused on traditional events, folklore and activities which are related to Maltese culture. Like others, this site gives the visitor the ability to click on any particular date of any month and year to view the events occurring on that day or period. Visit: www.mydestination.com/malta
Malta.com If you are looking for a user friendly site, malta.com is a good bet! Besides offering a detailed guide on different event categories, the user can also search for events according to town, category or particular keywords. The site also offers a list of all events grouped by month. Visit: www.malta.com
Malta Inside Out maltainsideout.com is an open to all event site. It tends to differ slightly from others as it actually offers literally all sorts of events.
One of the categories is in fact called ‘special events’, whilst another section is focused on education. The website itself is similar to a magazine as it is filled with interesting content related Malta. One can find articles on diving, Malta’s beaches and churches and so forth. Visit: www.maltainsideout.com
“
“
12
Some websites are similar in content, yet others are particular in the way it is presented
All Events Here events are listed twofold, the first option is similar to a timeline. However when scrolling down the site, it is easy to realise that events are grouped by category like, music, business, sports, etc. Visit: www.allevents.in
Malta Culture This is the website of the Malta Council for the Culture and the Arts. It provides a calendar of events which is strictly related to culture or art in Malta and Gozo. This means that any event which is somewhat related to culture is found here, starting from dance, literature, theatre, film, visual
arts, music, etc. Visit: www.maltaculture.com
Manic Malta In manicmalta.com a detailed description of every event is given
accompanied by a large visual related to the event itself. Users can add their own events and also subscribe to receive event notifications in their inbox. Visit: www.manicmalta.com Most of the sites above also have presence on social network sites (such as Facebook pages/groups) that are updated often with new and upcoming events.