Registration is currently open for the sixth edition of CyberCenturion, a cyber competition designed to test the skills of the next generation and prepare them for a future career in cybersecurity.
Organized by Cyber Security Challenge and backed by Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force Association, the contest was established as the US cybersecurity competition CyberPatriot, and aims to inspire young people to pursue STEM subjects in further education, support a critical need for greater diversity in the cybersecurity industry and reduce the current skills shortage.
Dominic Surry, 2019 CyberCenturion Team Leader and finalist, and squadron leader of Sandbach CCF in their day job, said that taking part in CyberCenturion “is a winning experience regardless of where the teams place in the end.”
With registration closing in a week on 9th October and open to schools, youth groups and individuals, Surry said that boosting confidence and an ability to perform in a field with “so much demand for fresh talent is part of our responsibility as adults.”
The idea of CyberCenturion is to encourage competitors to demonstrate and develop their technical ability, plus utilize a range of soft skills throughout three challenging virtual rounds. This year’s competition is centered around the theme of “Industry 4.0” and highest scoring teams will battle it out at the 2020 National Finals to compete for the title and the top prize, an all-expenses paid trip to the USA, courtesy of Northrop Grumman.
Details of the task are kept under wraps until the practice round opens on Monday 21st October, and participants have a three day window (between Friday and Sunday where they compete in a single six hour window). The highest scoring teams from all three rounds will go through to the finals.
Participants can drop in and out depending on their availability. However, to stand a chance of reaching the finals, they need to compete in each round to score the maximum amount of points.
Speaking to Infosecurity, Dr Robert Nowill, chairman of the Cyber Security Challenge UK, said that looking at the skills shortage, “we in the cyber-sector need to stop fishing from the same old ponds.” This involves being more inclusive by attracting participants from parts of the UK not usually covered by cyber-recruitment and roadshows “to consider cyber for the challenges, fulfilment and rewards that can be theirs.”
He added: “If we don’t, we’ll be missing out on the talent and skillset we so desperately need both as a sector and a country.
“CyberCenturion VI represents the sixth successful year of showing the next generation that pursuing a career in cyber really can take you anywhere. In the light of the growing cyber-skills shortage, it’s more important than ever to show young people how rewarding, exciting and quite frankly groundbreaking a career in cybersecurity can be. For us, and for the hundreds who have taken part in the competition to date, CyberCenturion does just that.”