Detica is sponsoring a national competition to find the next generation of cyber security specialist.

On 26 July 2010 the Cyber Security Challenge UK was launched in central London. As the need for skilled cyber security professionals grows, the Challenge is helping to identify a new generation of cyber experts and building a richer and larger pool of cyber security talent for the UK.

The Challenge is a series of online and face-to-face competitions designed by leading security, education and government organisations. Three competitions were announced on 26 July including the support for the Department for Defense Cyber Crime Centre (DC3) Digital Forensics Challenge, which is running as part of the US Cyber Challenge. Twenty-two UK teams are battling it out for the Detica prize for this competition, which will run until early 2011. The winning UK team will win a placement at Detica’s Security Academy, which develops the skills required of next-generation cyber security professionals, including courses on digital forensics, threat and risk management, cyber-crime and emerging security technologies.

David Garfield, CTO, Detica says: “Our dependence on cyber space has increased to the point where it forms part of the critical national infrastructure – and is being exploited for malicious purposes with increasing sophistication and frequency. Detica’s security specialists are constantly seeking and developing new approaches and technologies to ensure that the UK is well placed to address these determined cyber attacks. Through this challenge and our Security Academy we’re helping to find the future cyber security professionals with the skills and tools needed to ensure the UK has the most resilient and robust cyber infrastructure possible. We are delighted to be involved in this important national initiative."

To find out more, read the press release or visit the Challenge website.