GCHQ cyber-security course for young people triples intake

A GCHQ programme designed to encourage young people to develop their cyber-security skills has trebled its intake since it launched in 2016.

The CyberFirst programme is run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and offers a range of courses, competitions and student bursaries for 11-to-17-year-olds.

The scheme aims to train the next generation of cyber-security workers as well as reduce the gender imbalance that currently exists in the industry.

With cyber-attacks from foreign states and online groups on the rise, the UK government has been taking the threat more seriously in recent years.

It announced the creation of a new offensive cyber force composed of up to 2,000 personnel in September and the Ministry of Defence has even set up a ‘cyber cadet force’.

GCHQ is currently preparing for its third CyberFirst Girls competition, which is aimed at girls aged 12 and 13 and sees them take part in a series of online challenges.

The aim of the competition is to encourage more young women to consider cyber security as a career. Currently, only 11 per cent of the global cyber workforce is female, the organisation said.

Chris Ensor, the NCSC deputy director for skills and growth said: “Trebling the number of young people taking part on CyberFirst courses is an encouraging start. However, women only make a small proportion of the global cyber workforce and throughout GCHQ and the NCSC we are looking to address the imbalance.

“Ensuring the inquisitive instincts of young people to find out how things work are maintained is hugely important.

“In the first two editions of the CyberFirst Girls competition we have seen how much entrants engage with the challenges we set and this year’s competition is due to be bigger and just as cryptic.”

The competition is accepting entries for teams of up to four girls until 21 January.

The online phase will see teams complete challenges split into four categories: cryptography, cyber security, logic and coding and networking, with the top 10 teams moving on to a face-to-face grand final in Edinburgh in March.

Around 600 places on specially commissioned four-day CyberFirst Defenders courses in April and May are to be offered to entrants as an added incentive, organisers said.

source eantt

Industry: Cyber Security News