"CyberHAK": This is Where Austria's Future Cyber Cops Are Trained

The rapid increase in cybercrime has been highlighted by law enforcement for years. To ensure the police find future cyber-cops, children and young people are taught about internet security in a dedicated course at three commercial academies or schools. Even if students do not choose a career with law enforcement, they should be well-prepared for other jobs. CyberHAKs are available in Tamsweg, Horn, and Vienna.

Increase in Cybercrime: Police Seek Reinforcements

"We must ensure that we have enough specialists," said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) on Wednesday at the sidelines of a three-day networking meeting at the Federal Criminal Police Office, where teachers from the Austrian CyberHAKs, together with experts from the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BK), the Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence Service (DSN), the Federal Office for Corruption Prevention (BAK), as well as specialists from the fields of cybercrime, crisis prevention, and criminal law, address current issues of digital security and prevention. "They are the future in the Cyber-Cobra (special unit in the digital field, note)," explained the Interior Minister.

Teaching for Future Cyber-Cops at Three HAK Locations

In September 2021, the HAK in Tamsweg in Salzburg started the program, with the first cybercrime class graduating next year. In September 2023, the HAK in Horn in Lower Austria followed, and in September 2024, the Vienna Business School in Floridsdorf in Vienna started. In total, there are currently 230 students in eleven of these special classes. The curriculum has been supplemented with topics of security management and cybersecurity.

"The curriculum has been completely restructured," said the director of the HAK in Tamsweg, Herbert Giegerl, in an APA interview. There are now many hours of special instruction, so hours for other subjects - such as the second foreign language - had to be reduced. However, this is offered as an extracurricular activity, said the director of the Vienna Business School in Floridsdorf, Astrid Holzer. Trainers from police units then teach the children. Especially when external lecturers come, the students are very interested, reported the Horner school director Peter Hofbauer. But adults - teachers and parents - also learn a lot, said Astrid Holzer. "It is also a different form of teaching. You have to expect that students also have knowledge in this area."

Preventive Thinking at the Forefront

The CyberHAK program is a joint project of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Interior. It combines economic education with security-relevant competence and prepares students for activities in business, administration, and security authorities. "Preventive thinking is at the forefront," said the director of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Andreas Holzer. The course combines "digital competence, legal understanding, and practical security knowledge."

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.