CYBERSECURITY TALENTS HACK THEIR WAY TO THE FINAL ROUND OF THE "CYBER SECURITY CHALLENGE BELGIUM"
On March 26 and 27, IT students will take on a nerve-racking challenge at the annual Cyber Security Challenge Belgium (CSCBE). Like last year, the challenge is taking place online by necessity, but that doesn't make it any less interesting. No less than 670 students from 24 different universities and universities of applied science registered for the preliminary rounds and the 60 best teams will continue the battle this weekend. This challenge aims to make cyber security attractive, as the industry is desperately looking for new talent.
The influx of cyber security experts into business is more important than ever. Year after year, the cyber threat to businesses and organizations increases, and in 2020, the corona crisis added to that. Suddenly remote working became the norm and not every company was prepared for rapid digitization. This was an open door for cybercriminals who tracked down the vulnerable systems and saw an opportunity to make their move. The demand for experts in cyber security is increasing in many different sectors. The number of fields of study and the number of students are also increasing, but not at the same rate.
Shortage of cyber security experts
The CSCBE aims to make cyber security attractive to IT students and spark their interest in working in this sector. In Europe alone, we have an estimated shortage of 168,000 cyber security professionals. This could pose a serious threat to the security of our businesses and the economy in general. For the sponsors of this challenge, the task is clear: they want to meet the most versatile students. Participants who shine here are invariably invited for an interesting internship or offered a first job.
Advanced crypto puzzles and capturing the flag
To outsiders it may seem boring, but appearances can be deceiving. Students will take on a variety of challenges that will test their ingenuity in cryptography, reverse engineering, and web and mobile application security. There is a fine dose of gamification in this contest, with crypto puzzles and a capture the flag challenge, which will make it fun for the participating students.
Participants have a chance to win great prizes such as valuable cyber security training, with the top prize a study trip to DEFCON in Las Vegas, which is paradise for cyber security experts. From the winners, a delegation of young people will be formed to represent Belgium at the European Cyber Security Challenge (ECSC), which will take place on 28 September 2021 in Prague.
The CSCBE is an initiative of NVISO and TOREON, with the support of 10 companies and academic institutions. The Centre for Cyber Security Belgium encourages such initiatives and will ensure that a Belgian delegation can participate in ECSC 2021 in Prague.
Some figures for CSCBE 2021
- 673 young people present in the qualifying round
- 60 teams (240 participants) in the final
- 15 sponsors (6 main sponsors and 9 official sponsors)
- 28 participating companies actively looking for cyber security experts