It started with the European Cyber Security Challenge. This championship for young cyber security talents has been organized for years by ENISA, the European agency for network and information security. But for a long time the Netherlands did not participate. A missed opportunity, according the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the former dcypher. Therefore, in 2019 they organized Challenge the Cyber for the first time: a Capture The Flag (CTF) competition to select 10 talented young people to participate in the European challenge. Since then, CTC has taken place every year and the activities have been continuously expanded.
Bridge between theory and practice
"With
Challenge the Cyber we want to build a bridge between the theory and
practice of cybersecurity," says Melanie Lemmen, organizer of the first
hour. "At universities and colleges, students gain a lot of theoretical
knowledge. But their future employers like to see that they can also
apply that knowledge practically. That means they have to be able to
hack responsibly. During our challenges we build an environment in which
they can do that freely on the bases of various assignments. At the
same time they train their 'soft skills', such as working together and
presenting. This also benefits their future employers."
On the way to the European top
Both the European
and the Dutch challenge are intended for young people aged 13 to 25
years. One of whom is student Diederik Bakker, who achieved the 9th
place with the Dutch team at the European challenge this year. He has
now joined the CTC organization: "That 9th place tasted like more: in
the coming years we want to reach the top with the Netherlands. That is
why we are not only organizing the CTC competition, but also a cyber
bootcamp for the best 30 participants. Moreover, next year we want to
organize an online warm-up, with a month of challenging cyber security
assignments for every young person interested. This way, we are trying
to lower the threshold for the competition and get even more people
excited."
Win-win for students and companies
The
organization of the CTC activities is largely volunteer work. In
addition, several companies have committed to CTC, including ABN Amro,
Cisco, Deloitte, NFIR, Secura and KPN Security. "They contribute to our
goals in various ways," says Melanie Lemmen. "For example, by thinking
along with us about our activities and the competencies that
professionals need. But also by giving workshops, making facilities
available or offering financial support. They are happy to do so,
because they have a great need for practical cyber talents. It therefore
regularly happens that participants get a job at these companies. This
way the knife cuts both ways."
Interested?
Would you and your organization also like to contribute to Challenge the Cyber? Then contact us at vrienden@challengethecyber.nl. For more information, visit https://challengethecyber.nl/. The next competition will take place on May 14, 2022.
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