Gaming helps government to find new cyber talent

The government in the UK has unveiled its new gaming portal in a bid to uncover and provide skills to a new generation of a cyber security talent.

Cyber Security Challenge UK launched Cyphinx, a scheme supported by the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the Cabinet Office. It will play host to recruitment opportunities, ciphers, competitions and games to do with cyber security.

Skyscape Cloud Services hosted the portal, which was developed with the Serious Games Institute. Its target market are those aged from 12 to 25 with an interest in the cyber security profession.

One of the games is essentially a virtual skyscraper, which enables players to make custom-made avatars and navigate various worlds with in-built tests.

Any points they gain when playing the games are factored in when ranking players according to how effective they are in solving problems posed by employers.

Cyber Security Challenge UK said in its statement:

“As they work their way through the games, players’ scores are entered on leader boards for cyber security-related disciplines such as risk analysis, forensic analysis, network defence and ethics, giving them the chance to prove and showcase their individual cyber skills and creating a digital CV in the process.”

With a new wave of cyber talent about to emerge, we should expect to see improved protection among UK firms. Of course, cyber criminals continually advance in their own methods, so businesses need to ensure they make cyber security jobs available to this new talent in order to protect themselves fully.