11-01-2018

AlmavivA and Cyberchallenge.IT: a nationwide search for the cyber-defenders of the future has begun in Italy

AlmavivA is one of the main partners of Cyberchallenge.IT, the nationwide programme aimed at discovering and nurturing hidden “cyber” talent in young students aged between 16 and 22.

The initiative is promoted by the Cybersecurity National Laboratory run by CINI (Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per l’Informatica [Italy’s National Inter-University I.T. Consortium]) in partnership with the Cyber Intelligence and Information Security (CIS) Research Centre at Sapienza University in Rome, and with the support of the National Cybersecurity Research Committee. Sapienza University in Rome is joined in the project by the Polytechnic Universities of Milan and Turin, as well as the Universities of Genoa, Milan, Naples Parthenope and Padua, and the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

Registration closes on 20th January; 160 students will be selected to take part in a free training programme taking place at the eight university sites from March to May 2018. The programme will culminate in the first Italian Capture-The-Flag (CTF) championship in cyber security, which will take place in Rome on 28th June 2018.

The talented young players will be monitored by university experts and market-leading companies such as AlmavivA, which will introduce them to the scientific, technical and ethical principles of cyber security with practical activities centred around defence against cyber-attacks.

The programme will culminate in a final team contest. The best players will be selected to form the Italian National Team of Cyber-defenders, which will take part in international competitions such as the European Cybersecurity Challenge (ECSC) 2018.

Alongside its gameplay and competitive aspects, Cyberchallenge.IT is also aiming to reduce the severity of the so-called ‘skill gap’ problem, or rather the issue surrounding the lack of cyber sector experts in industrial and governmental fields. Roberto Baldoni – director of Sapienza CIS and the CINI Cybersecurity National Laboratory - highlights the objective: “training new generations of innovators in the field of cyber security in a world where protecting an organisation from cyber-attacks is becoming a major component of competitiveness”.

By taking part in the Cyberchallenge.IT programme, AlmavivA intends to encourage the youngest members of society to take a more challenging route for their own training, for their career and for the future of the national economic system.

Visit the website Cyberchallenge.IT to find out more.