GCHQ recruits spotty teens – for upcoming Hack Idol The GCHQ-backed Cyber Security Challenge UK is bringing cybersecurity education to UK schoolkids aged from 12 to 18 with the importation of the US-created Cyber Patriot programme. The US Air Force Association CyberPatriot youth programme involves as battle of wits in cyberspace involving 1,500 international teams of under-18s …
" Probably a cheap way of identifying those with the skill set to wage a cyber war early on in life."
Well they might find a few, but if they're any good why would they want endure the drudgery of life as a civil servant?
I worked on defence computing as a civil servant (before we parted ways as mutually incompatible), and the civil service is enough to drive you mad, with its penchant for inaction, bureaucracy and sloth, coupled with a tolerance of incompetence and waste.
I suppose if these youngster join GCHQ then they might get the chance of an exciting secondment to MI6....on second thoughts maybe that's not such a good idea.
Well it doesn't matter if they _want_ to do it. Because of information asymmetry they can simply be blackmailed into such positions.
This is why the Chaos Computer Club heavily advises against any sort of such cooperation. There simply is no way you can win in such a situation.
The competition consists of two rounds ...downloading a virtual computer image full of vulnerabilities that could present opportunities for a cyber criminal. The teams have ...to identify and fix these vulnerabilities.
No, changing the OS is not an option (because it is the very first thing I thought of).
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