Sixth Formers Win Cyber Security Challenge Prize

A group of sixth formers is among the winners of the the latest round of the Cyber Security Challenge designed to find new security talent in the UK.

The sixth formers won the small networks contest, part of the Network Defence stage of the contest, held at Qinetiq’s secure headquarters in Farnborough, just as the OECD warns that a war fought entirely in cyberspace is unlikely but governments must nevertheless be prepared. The medium network part of the challenge was won by a group of post-graduates.

The competition was first mooted at the Infosec Security Show in April last year and was modelled on the US Cyber Challenge. It is based on tasks, such as treasure hunts or network break-ins, and is open to people who want to demonstrate their information security skills. It was officially launched last July and saw a huge uptake in registrations.

First Winner

The Challenge already has a winner: just before Christmas Paul Laverack, a jobbing actor from London with ‘intellectual curiosity’ about computer security became the UK winner of the US Department of Defense DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge (one of three competitions that form the 2010 Cyber Security Challenge).

“It is really surreal. I did not have the intention of winning when I entered,” admitted Laverack, speaking to eWEEK Europe UK at that time. “I have been a computer user since before I went to university and have always had a huge interest in IT. I developed my interest in security after using the internet.”

And now with the first round of the challenge completed, another set of finalists has been revealed after a contest took place on 14 January to defend a secure network.

Network Finalists

The four best teams from round one were brought together for a face-to-face battle in QinetiQ’s highly secure Portal facility in Farnborough.

The teams had to defend themselves against simulated cyber attacks conducted by QinetiQ’s own security professionals.

The first winning team was called Team Glitch, and is made up of Stuart Rennie, Lucy Robson and Yung-Yu Lang, who are upper sixth school pupils. They won the category for small networks.

The second winning team was called team PEBKAC, and was made up of Richard Hodgson, Alistair Senior and Tony Shannon, all of whom are postgraduates. They won the medium networks category.

Prize wise, both teams will be able to choose from a pool of “career building and education-focused options which include internships with Sophos, experience on the CREST penetration testing rig, and free Sans Institute and 7Safe training places.”

The teams will also expected to compete in the challenge final known as ‘the Masterclass’ , which will be hosted in Bristol at HP Labs in March. There they will compete as individuals alongside winners from the other two Challenge feeder competitions  for the chance to to be crowned the UK’s Cyber Security Champion.

The above competition was the second of three that make up the 2010 Cyber Security Challenge UK.

The third feeder competition, the Sophos and SANS Institute Treasure Hunt, reaches its finale on the 29th January at Sophos’s Labs in Abingdon, where 25 individuals will compete against each other to also win places at The Masterclass in March.

Experts Impressed

“The level of capability displayed by our winners and finalists clearly demonstrates the hidden talent across the UK which we absolutely must continue to identify and nurture if UK industry is to remain at the forefront of cyber security” said Alasdair Rodgers, MD Security from QinetiQ.

“To meet the UK’s current and future online security needs we must encourage those with the skills and desire to become cyber security professionals. The Challenge is a fantastic way to ensure that happens and that’s why we are supporting it,” he added.

“I am delighted to see that Cyber Security Challenge is flourishing and has now reached the Face-to-Face phase,” said Baroness Neville-Jones DCMG, Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism. “The quality of contestants is impressive and I look forward to seeing the National finalists in early March when this year’s champion is crowned and the superb selection of career-enhancing prizes are awarded to the crop of newly discovered cyber security talent.”

“Protecting our interests in cyberspace is vital for the economic well-being of the UK and for our National Security,” she added. “To undertake this important work in the private and public sectors we need an expanded cadre of cyber security professionals. This initiative is a wonderful example of innovative and necessary collaboration between the Government and Industry to tackle the complex array of threats and risks that we all face daily in cyberspace.”