Winners of Cybersecurity Challenge Singapore’s Face-to-Face Competition Announced

Top players will pit their skills against UK cybersecurity talents in London Masterclass Final this November

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore organised the Face-to-Face (F2F) Competition segment of the Cybersecurity Challenge Singapore in partnership with BAE Systems today. Six winners (please refer to Annex A for images) with the highest scores were announced and they each win an all-expenses paid trip to the United Kingdom (UK) to pit their cybersecurity skills against UK cybersecurity enthusiasts in the Masterclass Final from 12 to 14 November 2017.

The 23 participants in the F2F competition had distinguished themselves with the highest scores from over 770 players who had registered in the first stage of the Challenge – the Singapore Floor of CyPhinx, a virtual three-dimensional (3D) skyscraper which acts as a gateway to different games, ciphers and competitions. 

Participants were divided into seven teams during the F2F competition and players pitted their skills against each other in a six-hour virtual battle as they devised cybersecurity measures to counter serious cyber breaches. The participants comprised students and mid-career professionals from fields such as consultancy and research and ranged in ages, with the youngest at 17 and the oldest at 41 years of age.

Throughout the competition, players were graded by assessors from CSA and BAE Systems as they demonstrated their cybersecurity proficiencies, namely in web application penetration testing, data forensic analysis, vulnerability assessment, incident response, packet analysis, cryptography and coding. To simulate a real-life cyber incident response scenario, players then presented their analyses to a panel of experts which comprised Mr Ng Pan Yong, Technical Director, BAE Systems; Mr Selwyn Sean Scharnhorst, Director (Ecosystem Development), CSA and Mr Oh Chin Lock, Director (School of informatics & IT), Temasek Polytechnic.

Special Guest, Deputy Chief Executive (Development), CSA, Mr Teo Chin Hock presented the prizes to the best team and top players.

"We are encouraged by the strong performance of the participants in the Face-to-Face competition today. The players demonstrated sound technical and analytical skills as they took on the different challenges. This augurs well for the industry and we look forward to having more cybersecurity talents come forward to hone their skills at the Challenge, gain industry exposure and at the same time, raise the quantity and quality of our talent pool."

Mr Teo Chin Hock
Special Guest, Deputy Chief Executive (Development), CSA

"BAE Systems’ 2017 Cyber Defence Monitor found that only 14 per cent of the Singaporean C-Suite are confident their company has the skills they need to deal with a cyber attack. Industry and Government must work together to develop Singapore’s cyber security capability and close this skills gap, which is why BAE Systems is partnering to bring the Cyber Security Challenge to Singapore. The Cyber Security Challenge aims to raise awareness around careers in cyber security, discover Singapore’s next generation of cyber security talent, and contribute to a vibrant and mature cyber security ecosystem here in Singapore."

Mr Boye Vanell
Regional Director, Asia, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence

About Cyber Security Agency of Singapore

Established on 1 April 2015, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) provides dedicated and centralised oversight of national cybersecurity functions, and works with sector leads to protect Singapore’s critical services. It also engages with various industries and stakeholders to heighten cybersecurity awareness as well as to ensure the holistic development of Singapore’s cyber security landscape. The Agency was established under the Prime Minister’s Office and is managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information.

Related Resource:

• Annex A