Utilisation of the Cyber Security Challenge for Learning within the South African Perspective

Globally, cyber security is one of the fastest growing fields—where the number of cyber warfare and jobs for cyber defense professionals far outpaces the number of available professionals. Industry and government professionals in South Africa who have seen and experienced these gaps are involved in various initiatives to support cyber security education. One such initiative is the annual Cyber Security Challenge, with the main aim to introduce students to the real-world applications of cyber security, to motivate them to consider a career path in this industry, and to expose them to cyber warfare and defence as career options. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of this challenge. The results show that students exposed to the Cyber Security Challenge have shown a significant increase in knowledge and interest in cyber security related fields and cyber security as a profession. Results indicate various areas where the competition can be improved upon, such as mentorship and the range of challenges. This result also proves the value of cyber security related challenges and will assist industry and government in the expansion of this program and the establishment of future programmes such as this one.