Tara Murray
Victoria University’ cyber security students pitted their skills against students from across the country in a virtual scavenger hunt.
Students from 10 TAFES did battle in the competition, in which competitors worked in teams and individually to collect points by capturing hidden flags, which could be disguised as an unusual snippet of code, a piece of hardware or a suspicious network.
The VU Polytechnic team, which was based out of VU’s state-of-the-art Cisco Cyber Security Centre at VU’s St Albans Campus, finished first in Victoria and second in Australia.
VU Polytechnic head of cyber and digital transformation Jo Cave said the challenge gave students a taste of a real working environment where they’ll need to defend systems from attacks.
“It was not only educational but also fun.”
A new national body, TAFE Cyber, organised the contest to promote the booming cyber security profession, which has a critical shortage of trained cyber security professionals at all levels.
VU Polytechnic contestants are studying a certificate IV in cyber security, one of the Victorian government’s free TAFE programs.
Ms Cave said about 35 per cent of graduates from VU Polytechnic’s course are women – well above industry standard.
Challenge participant Ximena Riveros, 42, worked in the software industry before joining the course.
“I saw this as a way to expand my skills in an area that is growing every day. Anyone interested in the course doesn’t need a technical background because you learn as you go.”
