Businesses today face a security challenge: Protecting their systems and data is vital, but there aren’t enough qualified employees who can successfully make that happen. Similarly, young cybersecurity professionals need to overcome the gap between what is learned in a classroom and the practical experience required to protect real, critical business data.
Trend Micro’s annual Capture the Flag (CTF) competition works to bridge this gap – providing young pros with real-world experience to hone their skills, and preparing more qualified employees who are ready to protect business critical data.
This year’s event took place over the weekend in Tokyo, with 10 teams cracking multiple challenges in categories such as targeted attacks, Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). Trend Micro’s CTF mastermind, Masayoshi Someya, spoke with CFO Mahendra Negi for his perspective on the value this competition brings to the security community.
Team Egfr33ks won this year’s event and 1 million yen that they’ll take home with them to Egypt. They were very excited to win their first international CTF, and couldn’t quite describe the feeling as they accepted the award. They now qualify for HITCON 2017 where they will further advance their skills and face new challenges.
Are you a security pro looking for more practical experience? Follow the @TrendMicroCTF Twitter handle for details on how to register for next year’s event. Also, check out the video recaps from this year’s competition on the CTF YouTube channel.
