The Cyber Security Challenge UK is a series of online and face-to-face competitions designed by leading security, education and Government organisations as a response to the shortage of skilled professionals in the cyber security sector, as well as the growing challenge of how to increase the resilience of the UK’s online presence with our existing human resources.
According to the organisers: “The Cyber Security Challenge will identify the most talented individuals in the country capable of becoming our first line of defence against cyber attacks now and in the future. It will excite and inspire participants to consider a career as a cyber security professional.”
The organisers also state: “The very latest technologies will be employed to test the mettle of everyone from teenagers to IT professionals.”
More than 30 prizes are on offer for successful candidates. All have been selected for their ability to help winners progress career opportunities in the cyber security profession. They include:
- bursaries for university courses (eg GB pound 3,300 funding towards an MSc in Electronics and Security at Queen’s University, Belfast)
- places on top private sector training courses (eg a two-week placement at the Detica Cyber Security Academy, or places on SANS Institute training courses)
- access to professional expertise and resources (eg opportunities to use the CREST penetration testing rig)
- memberships of professional bodies (eg annual membership of the Institute of Information Security Professionals, the British Computer Society and the Information Systems Security Association
From this morning, anyone interested in cyber security can register online to participate in the 2010 Challenge and have a chance to be crowned the UK’s Cyber Security Champion. Visit the Cyber Security Challenge site for more details.
Speaking at the official launch in central London, Baroness Neville-Jones said: “Cyberspace is woven into the fabric of our society. It is integral to our economy, our communities and our security. Defending all of our interests in cyberspace is a relatively small cadre of talented and highly-skilled public sector and private sector cyber security professionals. This pool of professionals must grow, and the Cyber Security Challenge UK offers an innovative and exciting way of attracting talented individuals to take up rewarding careers in this field.”
The initial competitions
As part of the launch, two initial competitions are being unveiled. Each competition features:
- a virtual competition where participants compete online
- a face-to-face play-off for the most successful participants in the virtual stage
The team or individual that performs best in the play-off will then become the winner of that competition.
- QinetiQ Network Defence Competition: This competition uses QinetiQ’s knowledge of network defence and its world-class modelling and virtualisation facilities. It involves teams reviewing, administering and defending a simulated network against attacks from cyber security professionals.
- SANS Institute and Sophos Treasure Hunt: The SANS Institute Security Treasure Hunt is an online game suitable for all ages and all levels of experience. Run on specific dates between September and December this year, and administered by a trained gamesmaster, participants will be challenged to identify security flaws on a dummy website and answer questions based on the issues they find. The competition takes the form of multiple choice questions allowing candidates to work at their own pace. Participants simply require a web browser, some creativity and possibly some research on the Internet. The whole process takes less than two hours, and the best six participants move through to the face-to-face stage being developed by Sophos.
Attendance at the UK Masterclass
Successful participants in each of these competitions will be invited to attend the Cyber Security Challenge UK Masterclass. This climax to the UK’s first Cyber Security Challenge is being developed by HP Labs and EADS Defence and Security as an opportunity to compete with, and against, other finalists from across the three competitions for a chance to be crowned the UK’s ultimate cyber security champion.
The Masterclass will challenge candidates to demonstrate their technical, strategic, commercial and interpersonal skills as they work in teams to cope with the challenges of managing and defending a business technology network in an accurately simulated commercial environment.
They will face the same challenges a cyber security professional faces in the real commercial world.
Digital Forensics Challenge
In addition to these two competitions and the Masterclass, the Challenge will also be supporting the UK category of the Department for Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) Digital Forensics Challenge, which is running as part of the US Cyber Challenge.
22 UK teams are currently participating. The Challenge will be providing a prize for the winner of that category and will also invite the individuals from the winning team to participate in the Masterclass.
The Challenge is being sponsored by a broad group of renowned organisations in the fields of cyber security, education, industry and public sector. They include the Open University, Sophos, EADS Defence and Security, SANS Institute, Detica, QinetiQ and the Cabinet Office.
James Lyne, a senior technologist at Sophos, summed up the importance of the competition when he said: “The bad guys are accelerating beyond the industry and if we carry on at the present rate we will lose the war. The security of computer systems has never been more important – not just to companies, but to the many workers whose livelihoods depend upon them.”
Lyne continued: “The Cyber Security challenge gives everyone with an interest in computer security the opportunity to demonstrate and enhance their skills in a fun way. Our hope is that it will drive more talented people to join the security industry, as IT companies today are finding it difficult to find the right talent.”
In conclusion, Lyne stated: “Sophos hopes that initiatives like this will help build a pipeline for future security experts to join us in protecting against Internet threats and hackers.”
Recruiting difficulties
Cyber Security Challenge UK director Judy Baker said that research suggested 90% of companies have difficulty recruiting IT security people, and that there had been a drop of around 50% in those applying for IT careers in recent years.
“We are calling on students, graduates and anyone with an interest in cyber security to come forward and test their skills,” she said. “The variety and excitement of the cyber security industry is one of the UK’s best kept secret. It faces new, dynamic challenges everyday, and The Challenge will demonstrate how important and exciting this profession is while at the same time helping the nation’s best, undiscovered talent achieve their cyber security career ambitions.”
Detica is one of the competition’s major sponsors, and the UK winners of the Digital Forensics competition will be able to go on its two-week Detica Academy course – an in-depth look at the cutting-edge of anti-cyber criminal work.
CTO David Garfield said: “Our use of cyber space has increased to the point where it forms a key part of the Critical National Infrastructure – a reality that is being exploited for malevolent purposes with increasing sophistication and frequency.”
He added: “Detica’s security specialists are constantly innovating new approaches and technologies to ensure that the UK is well placed to address these determined cyber attacks, with our Security Academy fundamental to this work. It’s vital that future cyber security professionals have the skills and tools to ensure the UK has the most resilient and robust cyber infrastructure possible. We are delighted to be involved in this important national initiative.”
Immense opportunities for students and professionals
Dr John Reid, who also spoke at the launch event, said: “The Cyber Security Challenge UK offers immense opportunities for students and professionals to make a significant and lasting contribution to our security and resilience. We are delighted to lend our support to the launch of such a competition at the Institute for Security and Resilience here in UCL.”
By way of conclusion, the former Home Secretary stressed: “The Challenge so clearly attracts a rich diversity of talent, ready to innovate in order to sustain our resilience in what is an uncertain world.”