With 48% of businesses experiencing a talent shortage, Cybersecurity for the Next Generation calls on students and young specialists worldwide to take on the challenge
Woburn, MA – October 19, 2017 – In an effort to address the IT security talent shortage, and with one of the biggest pools of extraordinarily talented experts around the world, Kaspersky Lab has teamed up with partners such as Dassault Systems, PWC and Schlumberger to create a talent discovery program, named Cybersecurity for the Next Generation. The program targets students and young specialists, with and without a security background, and the winner will take home a $10,000 grant.
The lack of IT security talent remains a prevalent issue for businesses around the world. One third of companies last year admitted that improving their in-house security expertise is among the top three priorities of their IT security investment, and 48 percent said they experience a talent shortage.
Cybersecurity for the Next Generation invites participants to tackle real tasks, provided by all involved partners, and if successful, solutions may be implemented in business. PWC, for example, is looking for a solution to automatically aggregate and analyze security-related news on social media. Schlumberger is looking for a concept to secure data storage in the Schlumberger private cloud. Some of the scenarios are not very technical; for example, Kaspersky Lab is looking for two gamified approaches to explaining and teaching security in healthcare, banks and retail.
“IT security has become a central element of our digital lives, but it is not necessarily a topic that attracts a large pool of talent – although people working in the industry can expect secure, highly-paid and challenging jobs,” said Todd Helmbrecht, senior vice president of marketing, Kaspersky Lab North America. “With this program, we want to demonstrate how interesting and diverse the field is and uncover talent that has so far been hidden. Experts are needed across all industries, and we believe that it is part of our mission to find more talent and let businesses benefit from a broader pool of experts.”
Contestants can participate in groups of up to three and hand in their applications before October 25 at https://securitynextgen.com. An expert jury will then choose finalists to be invited to the contest finals, which will be held in Prague on December 5 and 6.
The winner of the contest will receive a grant of $10,000, the second place will have the opportunity to attend the Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit and the third place winner will be sent to a professional conference on information security. In addition, there are special prizes from the contest’s partners, including internships, gadgets and other useful gifts.
The full list of tasks and partners is as follows:
1. Secure browser / Rosatom + Greenatom
Develop a secure browser based on VM technologies
2. Customer data protection in public clouds / Schlumberger
Offer a solution for secure data storage in the Schlumberger cloud
3. Login authorization control / Schlumberger
Develop a system of logging, event monitoring and user verification
4. System for detection of external online communication channels / Gazprom Neft
Develop an algorithm, software module and the architecture for an information system capable of searching for unauthorized online communications on corporate hosts connected to a corporate data network
5. Intrusion detection based on data mining / Kaspersky Lab
Compile a list of indicators of network traffic anomalies, and develop an algorithm of intelligent data analysis, develop architecture and a proof-of-concept of an intrusion detection system
6. Information security feed system / PwC
Develop software capable of online aggregation and analysis of different topics regarding information security from social media
7. Prevention of industrial espionage / Dassault Systems
Develop a solution to protect jewelry businesses from the loss of confidential information through technical channels
8. Kaspersky interactive protection simulation – Healthcare scenario / Kaspersky Lab
Develop a game board and describe a scenario from the field of healthcare for Kaspersky Lab’s interactive protection simulation
9. Kaspersky cyber safety management game – Healthcare | Bank | Retail scenario / Kaspersky Lab
Develop a scenario for Kaspersky Lab’s cyber safety management game with real examples of IT security incidents
About Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company celebrating its 20 year anniversary in 2017. Kaspersky Lab’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into next generation security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky Lab technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.
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Jessica Bettencourt
781.503.7851
Jessica.Bettencourt@kaspersky.com
