First Cyber Security Challenge Revealed Brilliant Talents

• Winners Awarded Training Courses at Airbus Defence and Space and Thales

• Competition Organised by “Pôle d’Excellence Cyber” Cluster in Partnership with the Two Companies to be continued

The final of the first cyber security challenge organised by the ‘Pôle d’excellence cyber’ cluster in partnership with Airbus Defence and Space and Thales was held on 24 November in Rennes. After more than five hours of technical tests, three teams – each composed of three students – stood out from the sixteen teams that had made it to the final. The three winning teams thwarted best cyber attacks from an ‘international organisation’, keeping the loss of critical infrastructures in the field of energy (fossil, nuclear or gas) under their supervision to a minimum. The nine successful participants were each awarded technology prizes (computers, smartphones, smartwatches, etc.) and places on training courses at Airbus Defence and Space or Thales.

This first challenge aimed to showcase the variety of professions in cyber security, a high-growth sector (+ 10% a year on average) where the industry is constantly on the search for very specialised profiles such as system architects, security and risk analysis engineers or pentesters. The initiative was a real success among students, with more than 400 registrations in the online shortlisting phase. Therefore, the competition is to be continued.