Leading UK academics and other related authorities have put out a call for increased interest in the field of ‘cyber security’. This is of course in reference to online security specialists, with a deep understanding of security systems and how they are bypassed. The Cyber Security Challenge has been set up in an active effort to find new talent in this area, pitting contestants against each other to assess their abilities.
This outcry for new talent comes as a response to growing fears surrounding the safety of UK networks. The Minister of Security, Baroness Neville-Jones, says that the entirety of the nation’s interests in cyberspace are held by a small group of highly skilled public and private sector security professionals. With growth in this particular area of security seeing little growth, it is important to spark an interest to ensure the safety of UK networks long into the future. The primary challenge will involve looking for flaws in a dummy site setup for the scheme, taking around two hours to complete.
The irony in developing such a highly tuned skill suited to catch and prevent cybercrime is that most (if not all) professionals entering the field have a history of illegal activity behind them. Many of the world’s most prolific hackers end up working for Government security sectors, or in private cyber security firms. Some feel this is akin to rewarding a criminal with worthy employment, so equating to a breach of justice. The UK are currently adopting a different approach, hoping to capitalise on the skill of such skilled online criminals in boosting national defences against cyber-attacks.
Netwise Hosting take online security just as seriously as those involved with this new project. We work closely with skilled security consultants with the view to build a secure and robust network on which clients feel more than happy to store their information. We pride our network on being one of the safest in this industry, with no expense spared in providing front line security to all machines housed within our private facility.
Sounds like a fairly good idea to me. Wish I had the know-how to enter really!