17 April 2026 | Cisco Melbourne Office
There's something pretty special about watching a room full of primary school girls get genuinely excited about cyber security.
That's exactly what happened on 17 April, when AWSN teamed up with Cisco to host a Kids CTF event at their Melbourne office, and 23 girls from across Victoria came along to dive in.
The girls spent the day getting hands-on with the kinds of skills that matter in today's online world. They learned how to spot a phishing email before clicking, what makes a password actually strong, how impersonation and identity theft really work, and how to think carefully and responsibly about AI.
The Cisco team designed the day to be interactive, age-appropriate, and most importantly, fun. The girls didn't just listen. They asked great questions and surprised more than a few adults with how quickly they picked things up. Parents joined their daughters for the day, and it turned out to be one of the best parts. There's real value in families learning this stuff together. The conversations don't end when they walk out the door. They continue at the dinner table, in the car, and the next time someone gets a suspicious text. By the end of the day, plenty of parents were already asking when the next one would be.
Cyber security careers don't usually start with a University degree. They start much earlier, with a curious kid who learns that the digital world isn't as mysterious as it seems, and that they have the skills to navigate it safely. For girls especially, seeing themselves in this space early matters. It's how we build a generation of confident digital citizens, and how we grow the pipeline of women who'll shape the future of cyber security in Australia. That's the long game, and days like this are how it starts.
A huge thank you to the entire Cisco team, not just for opening their doors, but for putting real thought, energy, and care into making the day what it was. You can tell when people genuinely want to be there, and the Cisco crew brought it from start to finish.
We hope this is the first of many. Watch this space, there's more to come.