The Centre for Cyber Safety and Education predicts a global shortage of 1.8 million cyber security professionals by 2022

British Telecom Supports Competition to Identify the Policy and Strategy Leaders Required to Tackle the Cyber Security Challenges of the Future. 

UK university students are now invited to register for the 2019 UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge.

With support from government, industry and academia, the competition provides a unique opportunity for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals to develop new skills, build contacts in the industry, and test their skills against peers.

Now entering its second year in the UK and aimed at university students with an interest in cyber security, the competition will be hosted at BT Tower in London on February 11-12, 2019.

The competition is designed to include students across academic disciplines, be they technical or non-technical, and aims to give them a deeper understanding of the strategy challenges associated with cyber security and conflict.

The competition is open to full-time students currently enrolled at a UK university on an undergraduate or postgraduate course, and who have not yet entered full-time employment.

There is no explicit academic discipline, coursework or prior experience in cyber security necessary to compete, but teams are expected to be able to demonstrate a strong link between cyber strategy and their academic interests.

Previous entrants have used the event not only to develop and test their cyber security knowledge, but have also used the experience to link up with potential employers and secure their first cyber security role.

The Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge is committed to promoting diversity within the industry, with the all-female winning team from the inaugural 2018 competition also winning “Cyber Security Student of the Year” at the SC Awards.

The competition provides coaching on cyber policy and strategy skills, and this year will be creating new ways for the student competitors to link up with partners and sponsors.

In terms of format, teams of four competitors take on the role of senior advisors to government and industry dealing with a complex, escalating cyber-attack, with national and international ramifications.

Part interactive learning experience and part competitive scenario exercise, it challenges teams to respond to a realistic cyberattack by analysing threats and risks and then proposing effective mitigating policies and strategies to panels of expert judges. Over two days, the scenario evolves through 3 judging rounds into a grand final in front of a panel of senior cyber security leaders and all other competitors.

Initiatives to grow the pipeline of future cyber security professionals are particularly important in light of the cyber skills gap that affects the UK and the industry more widely.

The Centre for Cyber Safety and Education predicts there will be a shortage of 1.8 million cyber security professionals globally by 2022.

British Telecom has published a Five Step Plan to address the issue, and is proud to support programmes such as the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge and the Cyber Security Challenge UK that aim to grow the future pipeline of cyber experts across technical, strategy and policy roles.

We’d like to encourage you to share this information with relevant colleagues and students in your university and network who  may be interested in entering.

Registration is open until NOON GMT on 7 December 2018. Further information and FAQs on the competition format and logistics can be found here. Spaces at the event are limited, so teams will be selected based on the questions they answer as part of the application process.