Students hack robots, gain confidence in tech
A robot sat on the floor in Jon M. Huntsman Hall late in the evening. Around it, Utah State University students huddled over laptops, racing to break into the website containing the robot’s controls.
For some students, it was their very first time attempting to hack at all, but that was exactly the point.
The event — hosted by the USU Student Organization of Cybersecurity, or SOC, and led by the USU Baddies of Tech Club, or BOT — aimed to make cybersecurity and hacking accessible to students who might not see themselves in the field. Most had never exploited security vulnerabilities before.
“I felt so intimidated,” said Emma Nebeker, a data analytics senior and BOT leadership member. “In the beginning of the presentation, everyone else was like, ‘Oh yeah,’ but then I was the first one to hack in.”
The collaboration brought together two clubs with a shared mission: SOC’s technical expertise and BOT’s commitment to creating space for students who don’t fit traditional tech stereotypes.
Baddies of Tech, formerly Women in Tech, champions “nontraditional pathways in technology” and works hard to break down barriers in tech spaces, according to its website.
“There’s, like, a big stereotype of the tech-bro guy,” Nebeker said. “If you feel like you don’t fit that role — you don’t fit the mold you always see — that’s okay. I don’t look like these big tech giants, but that’s okay.”
The club changed its name to Baddies of Tech after Utah legislation required clubs to avoid “exclusive language,” according to House Bill 261, though the club welcomed everyone, even before the change. With the new name, the club continues its mission to make tech accessible to historically overlooked perspectives.
“Another big barrier is just feeling like you don’t know enough,” Nebeker said. “Once you get into it, you’ll realize you know a lot more than you think you know. There’s always ways to figure it out, and you can always just learn from other people.”
The Jan. 21 robot hacking event put that mission into practice. Students learned about SQL injection vulnerabilities and applied the concepts to hack into robots.
Nebeker had touched on SQL injections in a data class but had never applied the knowledge to hands-on work.
“This one I liked because there was a clear goal,” she said. “Everyone’s working together. It was a really good way to learn more about cybersecurity.”
Bradin Rohde, mechanical engineering student and president of SOC, said making events beginner-friendly is a top priority.
“Cybersecurity can be intimidating, especially to people who are just wanting to learn about tech, but I feel like tonight, we handled it well,” Rohde said.
Both clubs attract students from diverse majors. SOC has hosted psychology majors, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers alongside the traditional computer science major.
“We actually had two psychology majors, and they were some of our best club members,” Rohde said. “Security is a lot of psychological — being able to social engineer a group — it makes sense.”
Nebeker said BOT intentionally reached beyond the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business to include computer science, English, math and other majors.
Rhode’s path to SOC leadership can illustrate the unconventional path both clubs encourage.
“I joined college wanting to build robots,” he said. “I was walking to class one day in a low spot, and I saw a table advertising for HackUSU. Two years later, now I’m the president.”
Nebeker said hands-on events, like robot hacking, help students realize their capabilities.
“If you don’t try to do things, you’ll never realize how many skills you have,” she said. “Anyone can follow a tutorial in class, but stuff like this, where you’re getting out of your comfort zone and trying something, I’m capable. I can figure it out.”
The collaboration event marked the first partnership between BOT and SOC, but both clubs look forward to similar combined events in the future.
“We’ve been talking for a little bit,” Rohde said. “We were talking last semester, like, ‘Hey, we should do some sort of collaboration event.’ I’d like to do more collaborations in the future.”
Both clubs encourage anyone to join, even without any tech or hacking experience. SOC coordinates through Discord, but more information for the club can be found at huntsman.usu.edu/clubs/soc. For more information on BOT, contact carly.fox@usu.edu.