'IT COULD BE A HUGE PROBLEM': Tulsa Tech students host "Hack House"

JENKS, Okla. — Tulsa Tech cybersecurity students presented the “Hack House,” an event focused on cybersecurity threats and scams people can encounter while using technology.

Students demonstrated threats ranging from credit card skimming and ransomware to key-logging, which can track a user's activity, artificial intelligence voice cloning, and more.

For the students, the event provided an opportunity to put what they have learned in the classroom into practice while teaching others.

“Dude, it’s fun,” Tulsa Tech cybersecurity student Sean Watson said. “I love getting to see these groups that they probably haven’t seen this before, and they’re like, ‘Whoa, now I know about this. This is like really cool.’”

Watson focused his presentation on AI voice cloning.

Another student, Johnathan Riggs, focused on what are known as watering hole attacks.

“A hacker or a group of hackers sit behind the scenes of a website just putting malicious code, or watch for certain characteristics of devices or people,” Riggs said.

Riggs said such attacks can put sensitive information at risk.

“They could get access to certain information,” Riggs said. “Financial, your financial security could be compromised.”

Students spent weeks preparing their presentations. One student told 2 News they spent more than nine weeks researching their topic and gathering information to present to fellow students and the public.

The goal is to raise awareness as technology continues to evolve, along with the threats and scams that come with it.

“It is extremely important for everybody to know about cybersecurity and some risks that can happen because we can’t avoid technology in this day and age,” Riggs said. “So you have to know what the risks can be so you can prevent them.”

Watson echoed that message, saying cybersecurity threats need more attention.

“It’s a thing that needs to be talked about. It’s a thing that needs to be noticed, and this really needs to be put out there for people to know that it exists and to be worried about it,” Watson said.