Three teams from Gibraltar have qualified for the CyberCenturion National Final, which will be held at The Institution of Engineering and Technology in London on 8th March. This is the third time that Gibraltar teams have qualified for CyberCenturion finals.
Over 500 teams from the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories signed up to the competition. After three online rounds, only the top ten teams qualify for the National Final. This year, three of them are from Gibraltar’s schools.
These teams are comprised of fourteen students from Bayside and Westside Schools, aged between 14 and 17. One of the teams is an all-girl team, and was the best performing all-girl team throughout the entire competition.
In Gibraltar, the online rounds were hosted at the Gibraltar University and involved the students securing and fixing vulnerabilities in a number of different operating systems. Since September, the teams have been training on a weekly basis with the Security Team from the betting company GVC Group, developing their skills in securing both Linux and Windows based operating systems. The students have also been taking part in the UK Governments' Cyber Discovery and Cyber First programmes to enhance their experience further.
EY Accountants has kindly agreed to purchase personalised hoodies for all the team members, provide them with laptop satchels and arrange a visit to the EY Cyber Hub in London. The teams will also be visiting Bletchey Park during their time in England.
The Minister for Education, the Hon John Cortes, said: ‘I am immensely proud of these students, who have worked extremely hard. CyberCenturion offers a unique learning opportunity and I am certain that these skills and experiences will serve all those who participate well in the future. The engagement from the private sector in supporting and training the teams is greatly appreciated and we will be reaching out more to encourage this. I wish all three Gibraltar teams the very best of luck, and most of all, hope they enjoy the experience to the full.’
