The Capture the Flag Competition supports Thailand in cybersecurity readiness and future workforce capacity building
Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, conducted a Capture the Flag (CTF) competition designed to provide an educational platform for the participants to gain introductory knowledge about cybersecurity as well as to nurture next-generation cybersecurity talent in Thailand. Attended by 10 finalist teams, the competition took place virtually on October 17, 2021.
The CTF competition attracted a total of 87 teams of applicants from 34 universities across the country. The participants were required to identify security issues and misconfigurations in a public cloud environment. They were tested on several aspects of information security, which included but were not limited to cryptography, binary analysis, and reverse engineering. Consisting of questions in varying degrees of difficulty, the CTF looked to harness the different skill sets and faculties of the participants.
Graced by Capt. Amorn Chomchoey, deputy secretary-general of the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), and Dr. Tatchapol Poshyanonoda, country director for Thailand and Indochina at Palo Alto Networks, the final competition presented the winning team Fiber-SeeKuaiRity from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, the first runner up, Confused30 from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University and the second runner up, Ro_bocop from Royal Cadet Police Academy with certificates from National Cyber Security Agency and Palo Alto Networks, cash prizes, as well as certification exam vouchers for the winning team members. All finalist teams also each received a Palo Alto Networks PA-200 Next-Generation Firewall and cash prizes worth US $2,000.
Capt. Chomchoey asserted: “Thailand’s digital economy is at an inflection point, and we need to address the widening talent shortage in cybersecurity so we can navigate potential threats to the nation’s security. I am confident that the Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Academy Program will help to train and prepare the next cohort of cybersecurity professionals to bridge the talent gap in the sector.”
Palo Alto Networks has committed to building a workforce of 1,000 cybersecurity experts in a year from graduates of the Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Academy, a global initiative by the organization to address the critical cybersecurity skills gap and safeguard the country’s burgeoning technology economy. There are currently 16 universities from Thailand participating in the academy program.
Dr. Poshyanonoda affirmed: “We are committed to working closely with the government to ensure that Thailand’s cybersecurity will not be compromised. The pandemic has accelerated digitization, bringing cybersecurity to the forefront of the government’s agenda. We must invest in developing and upskilling the young people of tomorrow so that we are able to counter the increasingly complex cyberthreats that will no doubt come our way.”
Palo Alto Networks supports the government’s vision with its Cybersecurity Academy Program, which consists of a comprehensive set of modularized academic and technical courses that match cybersecurity education and training needs. Upon completing the course, each student will be eligible as either a Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-Level Technician (PCCET) or Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA). Over the last year, Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Academy has certified 60 PCCETs (previously known as PCCSA) and 61 PCNSAs from the Asia Pacific region. More than 2,280 students have been PCCET certified globally in the last two years. This includes some of the university students from Thailand.
For more information about the Capture the Flag competition, please visit this page.
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Source: Precious communications