Competitions for selection of cyberexperts

The federal government, education officials and giant military contractors are collaborating to recruit a new class of tech professionals specifically trained to battle data thieves, online scammers and cyberspies. 

They use competitions, in which group of young candidates are competing against professional hackers, as the recruitment tool of choice. This year, the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition drew teams from 83 colleges and universities. Boeing hired seven contestants to help defend its internal networks, which are prime targets for corporate and military spies. Another similar contest, the US Cyber Challenge, has a goal of finding future cyberguardians. Meanwhile, community colleges and universities are expanding vocational training and academic degree programs. Enrollment in two-year programs participating in CyberWatch, a consortium of Mid-Atlantic colleges focused on cybersecurity training, has jumped about 66% in each of the past two years. To find out more about those programs, it is necessary to visit USAToday web page.