Australia seeks to encourage women in cyberspace with second annual Quad Cyber Challenge
Australia has hosted its second annual Quad Cyber Challenge, promoting the career opportunities presented by the cybersecurity sector and highlighting the importance of young cyber talent in developing the sector’s future workforce.
The challenge, which coincides with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, was conducted by the Quad Senior Cyber Group from October 21-25.
For Challenge 2024, the Home Office said it was particularly seeking interest from female students and future cybersecurity professionals, a massively underrepresented demographic, with women making up just 16% of all professionals Australian Cyber Security.
“We want female students to consider a future in cybersecurity – a field that provides exciting work, protects people and businesses and helps strengthen Australia’s national security,” Home Affairs wrote.
The challenge asked students to complete three tasks: solve one of the Australian Signals Direction (ASD) puzzles, enroll in the ASD CyberEXP to “find out what a day in the life of a cyber specialist is like » and explore industry resources on the Australian Women in Security Network website.
The Australian Quad Cyber Challenge follows closely on the heels of the US Quad Cyber Challenge held at the White House on October 10.
The US-hosted challenge was a joint operation to expand cybersecurity cooperation between the Quad Senior Cyber Group, an alliance between Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
The challenge invited students from the Presidential Cyber Educator Award Pathways and CyberPatriot programs, as well as recipients of the Presidential Cyber Educator Award.
This year’s challenge focused on building a strong workforce and utilizing young cyber talents through educational pathways, the importance of which was highlighted by both the Deputy Advisor to the national security of the National Security Council for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies, Anne Neuberger, and by the deputy secretary of the ministry. of Education Cindy Marten.
Several cyber professionals also discussed their experiences in the industry and how they progressed in their careers.
On October 11, Japan’s National Center for Incident Preparedness and Cybersecurity Strategy also invited three cybersecurity professionals to discuss their experiences and the importance of cybersecurity roles.
