The British government and the IT industry have launched the final leg of a national cybersecurity contest on the HMS Belfast in London this Thursday.
Contestants in the Cyber Security Challenge UK’s Masterclass are tasked with taking down a fictional eco-terrorist organisation planning to bombard City Hall with a naval gun system.
Stephanie Daman, chief executive of the Cyber Security Challenge, said: "What we’re doing is putting the next generation of cyber talent through their paces."
"It enables the candidates to realise the breadth of opportunities in this sector."
The contest, which is the culmination of ten months of vetting candidates, is thought to be the largest cyberattack simulation for civilians ever run in the UK.
Sponsored by the likes of BT, defence firms such as the Airbus Group and Lockheed Martin, as well as the National Crime Agency (NCA), it will also provide candidates with an opportunity to be scouted by industry and police, as both public and private sectors seek to plug the talent gap in tech.
Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, said: "Today’s competition highlights the very best new cybersecurity talent as they are challenged by a set of exciting and innovative scenarios developed by GCHQ alongside industry experts.
"Both government and business need skilled and talented people to feed the demand for better cybersecurity in the UK."
Lindsey Kemp, manager at the NCA’s National Crime Unit, added that the contest involved "threats that all sectors face", with one set of puzzles requiring participants to analyse vulnerabilities in a series of SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems.
However the contest has also shown the industry’s problem at attracting women, with all but one candidate in the final leg of the contest being men.
"I think anything we can do to encourage more females to join the professional is a really positive thing," Kemp added.
