Cyber challenges are becoming *the* way for security enthusiasts to get noticed by employers. Last year’s winner of Cyber Security Challenge UK, a postman from Wakefield has just had the meteoric promotion to information security specialist at the Royal Mail. This year’s winners have being snapped up by consultants PWC and other sponsors.
Winner prospects for dream job
Tony Shannon, this year’s winner of the networking challenge, is using the event tactically to find his dream job with an oil company in Aberdeen. A mature graduate in computer science and forensics from Nottingham Trent, Shannon swapped to cyber security when he realised its career potential.
“Previously I was doing a programming degree, but a lot of that work is being off-shored to places like Bangalore. The beauty of security is that by its very nature, companies have to keep the function in-house,” he says.
Consultancy jobs upstream
There is also the prospect of lucrative consultancy jobs later down the career path, says Shannon. Companies need to have their systems and networks assessed and tested by external – yet trusted – experts. “The people I have met at the cyber security challenge, both competitors and sponsors will be a vital part of my network for the next 20 years.”
The challenge itself is unlike anything you will experience on your university course or even in the workplace, confirm competitors. “You are working on unfamiliar kit, with a team of strangers with judges breathing down your neck. It is enormous pressure.”
Britain’s got security talent
For the master class, where winners of the different categories compete, a devilishly complex cipher, consisting of three phases, was constructed by sponsor PWC. Of the first 40 to drop out and mistakenly identify a dummy as an easy answer, many came from the security industry. It confirms the fact that new security talent is more likely to be located in Britain’s back bedrooms or the sorting office.
“A common denominator among all this year’s and last year’s winners is that none believed that they would be able to get a job in the information security sector. We have to show the door is open”, said Mohan Koo, managing director of Dtex Systems and sponsor of the event.
Security skills shortage
New sponsors such as BT are piling on board and using the competition as a fertile recruitment ground. Mark Hughes, group security director at BT said that keeping its 15,000 security-savvy staff topped up to meet today’s challenges is a tough task.
David King, head of digital risk at the National Grid called for a new culture where security is on a par with safety and given the same kind of priority. He urged more people to consider information security as a career option. “It’s an exciting sector. It is never boring”, he promised.
Search CWJobs for vacancies in information security.
