Turkey recruits youth hackers to boost cybersecurity
Increasingly susceptible to cyberattacks, Turkey is recruiting former hackers and tech-savvy citizens for training in cyber affairs, but some worry the Turkish government will use these new capabilities to monitor its own citizens.
Facing growing concern over cybersecurity, the Turkish government is trying to recruit thousands of youngsters for training in cyber affairs. The country's National Intervention Center Against Cyber Attacks (USOM) even organized a competition called “Cyberstar” that attracted 27,000 young people.
Some former internet pirates have found new futures as white-hat hackers in information technology (IT) for the government. One of these, 18-year-old A.S., spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity about his experience in the IT world.
“I have been interested in computers since elementary school. In middle school, that became an obsession. I wasn't doing well in my other subjects because I was spending my days writing code, which eventually became my full-time job. For the past year, I have been working as a part-time cybersecurity expert for the government, making about $1,000 a month," said A.S., who hails from the low-income Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul.
His tale resembles the stories of hundreds of other young people.
