LEADING IT solutions provider CGI is bringing its Cyber Escape experience to Ysgol Eirias in Colwyn Bay this month as part of a UK-wide tour.

The escape room-style experience will give students in Years 10 to 13, as well as employees of North Wales Police, the opportunity to learn about online security risks in a fun and interactive way.

CGI’s Cyber Escape experience will be at Ysgol Eirias in North Wales between the November 22-26.

The students, who will be joined by employees of North Wales Police on November 26, will team up to beat the hacker and learn about cyber security risks and how to avoid them.

The experience has been safely built within a shipping container and will permit small groups to participate in a short ‘escape’.

Teams will have to work together to uncover clues, solve puzzles and accomplish cyber-related tasks to escape successfully in the time allowed.

The experience will also be open to businesses wishing to test their cyber skills, to see if their employees have what it takes to stay safe in our digital world.

Participants will learn critical skills in a simulated real-world setting through interactive activities, much like other escape rooms.

They will learn about everything from protecting their privacy and creating strong passwords, to physical security, device and document handling and navigating social media.

Dave Jones, head of IT at Ysgol Eirias, said: “Students and staff at Ysgol Eirias are excited to be part of this exciting new way to learn about cyber security.

“We can't wait to see if we have what it takes to 'escape' the room!”

Dave Evans, Police and Community Trust, North Wales Police, added: “As co-sponsors of the recent internet safety poster competition, CGI have given us a unique opportunity to use their escape room facility and promote the positive use of technology as a learning tool with pupils from Eirias High School and our competition partners.

“The internet safety poster competition was a tremendous success and we are delighted that Phillipa Proctor and her team at CGI have secured the use of the Cyber Escape experience for the first time in North Wales to support the competition.”

CGI is one of the world’s largest IT consulting companies, working with multiple sectors in the private and public sphere.

From telecoms to space, CGI works to support organisations as they innovate, modernise, and maintain secure solutions.

Richard Holmes, senior vice president of cyber security for CGI in the UK, said: "Regardless of whether you’re a school student or a business leader, we spend much of our personal and professional lives online.

“It’s vital that everyone knows how to practice cyber safe techniques and continue to hone our existing skills.

“The experience has been designed to showcase the easy ways we can protect ourselves from a number of very real online dangers.

“While we may be living in a highly computer-literate world, the number of data breaches and internet scams we see in the news would suggest that much needs to be done to help people protect themselves in a digital environment.

“We hope that this experience will offer people a real-world opportunity to learn and engage with safe cyber practices in a fun and interactive way.”

The Cyber Escape experience was developed by CGI's UK Cyber Security practice to train, educate and engage with businesses to help them better understand cyber security risks, complement any existing security awareness training, and increase knowledge of how to reduce the impact of a cyber-attack in a unique way.

CGI’s Cyber Escape will be transported around the country to different schools, colleges and businesses for students and staff to participate in their cyber adventure, or arrangements may be made to visit the experience at a CGI location.

To find out more about CGI’s Cyber Escape experience and how you can get involved, visit: www.cgi.com/uk/cyberescape.