The Role of Hackathons in Driving Cybersecurity Forward

Hackathons bring tech-savvy people together in a collaborative setting to solve problems, advance a technology or produce another type of positive outcome. One of the issues hackathons can address is cybersecurity. Here’s how they can aid the whole cybersecurity sector.

Equipping Future Cybersecurity Specialists

According to a 2018 study, the global cybersecurity skills gap already comprises almost 3 million people, with the problem most severe in the Asia-Pacific region. Many universities have programs to give students the knowledge they need to quickly take on cybersecurity roles.

Hackathons are among the various things students do to get ready to enter the job market. In one instance, the United Kingdom government sponsored a cybersecurity hackathon for 50 university learners. The participants worked on commercial applications with known security issues, giving them hands-on training and receiving advice throughout the event.

The event not just dealt with security vulnerabilities—it also provided the students with the information they need to succeed in the job market and their future careers. In this way, hackathons extend the learning environment, giving students valuable experience, plus other kinds of educational resources.

Teaching to Work Together to a Common Goal

The companies that hire cybersecurity specialists often require them to be team players and comfortable working with people from different departments or those with alternative perspectives. If people can’t learn to pool their resources, it likely will take longer to fix cybersecurity problems. Hackathons typically pair people who might not otherwise cross paths.

For example, an event that involved students from Cambridge University and MIT had blended teams, giving students from both institutions the chance to work together and learn from each other.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff once referred to successful cybersecurity as a “team sport.” That may mean working with people from various organizations, which is something many individuals don’t get to experience often. The format of hackathons teaches people to focus on one thing they can contribute to reach the goal.

They learn a skill that’s crucial in any industry, but particularly in cybersecurity. The ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity means companies may need to bring in various consultants with specific experience to solve problems. Going to hackathons helps cybersecurity professionals become comfortable with new interactions.

Finding Practical Solutions

When companies hold hackathons, they often have broad ideas for making improvements but need people taking part to find practical applications for carrying out those plans. iManage and the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) co-hosted the first round of an event called the Global Legal Hackathon. The teams taking part came up with three ideas they thought could be marketable.

Pitching a concept involved standing before a panel of judges from Chicago’s legal and tech sectors. People had to work under pressure and find ideas that were realistic enough to impress the judges quickly.

Even though that hackathon didn’t involve cybersecurity directly, most hackathons challenge people to develop concepts quickly that could work in the real world. They encourage attendees to think outside of what they know and explore what’s possible.

Focusing on Gender Equality

Within the overall cybersecurity skills shortage mentioned earlier, there is exceptionally low involvement from women in the sector. There are several reasons for this: Females often don’t receive the needed encouragement to focus on tech careers from a young age. Plus, most schools don’t include cybersecurity in their core curriculum.

If women perceive that cybersecurity requires talents they don’t have and can’t acquire, they’ll likely go into other careers. But helping females get acquainted with cybersecurity could increase women’s’ representation in the industry and help close the skills gap in that part of the tech sector.

PwC hosted a female-only hackathon that included opportunities for people to learn about career and internship opportunities associated with the company. Events such as this could help the cybersecurity industry realize the worth of actively recruiting women for their cybersecurity roles. The whole sector then could be improved by increased diversity.

Teaching how Cybercriminals Operate

Some hackathons task individuals with finding vulnerabilities in websites or applications. Gaining offensive skills is arguably as important as knowing how to keep hackers from infiltrating networks by applying defensive tactics.

Research published by Radware found that the average cost of a cyberattack on a business tops $1 million and causes reputational damage in 37 percent of instances. Well-trained cybersecurity experts help stop those costly attacks by knowing offensive strategies as well as defensive ones. Hackathons often let them develop their prowess.

In one hackathon across Australia, people were tasked with finding vulnerabilities in an e-commerce website and a human resources site. The contestants were awarded points based on the number of problems found. Activities such as these help individuals think on their feet and look at things from the perspective of a person trying to breach a network.

Growing Cybersecurity Interest

In today’s society, cybersecurity professionals are essential members of an enterprise’s tech team. Hackathons help them gain skills while equipping the public to understand why cybersecurity matters and encouraging interest in it.

Beyond the aspects mentioned above, hackathons devoted to cybersecurity help make the subject top of mind while serving as events that help people network, increase their skill sets and learn about job prospects.

Kayla Matthews

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Kayla Matthews

Kayla Matthews writes about cybersecurity, data privacy and technology for Digital Trends, Cloud Tweaks, TechnoBuffalo and The Daily Dot. To read more of Kayla’s articles, visit her blog Productivity Bytes.

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