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Kaspersky Lab intros cyber security skills programme

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 17 Oct 2017
Riaan Badenhorst, GM at Kaspersky Lab Africa.
Riaan Badenhorst, GM at Kaspersky Lab Africa.

With 48% of businesses around the world experiencing a talent shortage in their cyber security divisions, Kaspersky Lab and its partners have set up a talent discovery programme to increase efforts in tackling a diverse range of cyber crimes.

Kaspersky Lab has collaborated with multinational software company Dassault Systems, PwC and oilfield services company Schlumberger to create a talent discovery programme, named Cybersecurity for the Next Generation.

Targeting young specialists and students with and without a security background, the programme invites participants to tackle real tasks, provided by all involved partners, which, if successful, may be implemented in the business's IT departments.

"PwC, for example, is looking for a solution to automatically aggregate and analyse security-relevant news on social media, while Schlumberger is looking for a concept to secure data storage in the Schlumberger private cloud. Kaspersky Lab, on the other hand, is looking for two gamified approaches to explaining and teaching security in healthcare, banks and retail," explains Kaspersky Lab.

Tasks include developing secure browsers, creating login authorisation control systems and compiling a list of indicators of network traffic anomalies, adds Kaspersky.

"IT security has become a central element of our digital lives. But it is not necessarily a topic that attracts a huge amount of talent - although people working in the industry can expect secure, highly paid and challenging jobs. With this programme, we want to demonstrate how interesting and diverse the field is and uncover talent that has so far been hidden," says Riaan Badenhorst, GM at Kaspersky Lab Africa. "Experts are needed across all industries and we are proud of the pool of experts we have. But, we also believe that it is part of our mission to find more talent and let businesses benefit from a broader pool of experts."

The lack of qualified IT security talent remains a prevalent issue for businesses around the world. A study by Frost and Sullivan estimates 1.5 million cyber security positions will be open and unfilled by 2020.

Meanwhile, a Kaspersky Lab report reveals the high-risk cyber environment is being made worse by the lack of skilled talent. The report found 33% of global companies last year admitted improving their in-house security expertise is among the top three priorities of their IT security investment, and 48% said they experience talent shortages.

The winner of the contest will receive a grant of $10 000; the second place will have the opportunity to go to 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 gifts.

Contestants can participate in groups of up to three and must hand in their applications before 25 October. For more information, visit this Web site.

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