The Gillard Government, in partnership with Telstra and Australian universities, has announced Australia’s first national cyber security competition, the 2012 Cyber Defence University Challenge.

The Challenge will test the cyber problem-solving skills of teams of Australian undergraduates in a virtual computer network scenario, challenging them to identify, exploit, mitigate, prevent (virtual) network vulnerabilities.

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy said, “The Challenge will raise awareness of the importance of cyber security, particularly in the university and business sectors, while also showcasing the diverse career opportunities for ICT graduates.”

The Challenge will run for 24 hours on 3 – 4 April 2012 with the chance to win a trip to the Black Hat 2012 Conference in Las Vegas, USA, in July this year. The conference brings together international cybersecurity experts for series’ of infosec presentations and hands on training.

Australian university undergraduates studying computer science and related degrees are encouraged to register a team via their university.

“The need for greater awareness of cyber security issues and for more high-skilled ICT graduates were two of the key themes to emerge from the public engagement process associated with the Government’s Cyber White Paper, due for release later this year.” Senator Conroy said.

“The Government is committed to working with industry to develop a safe and secure digital economy for Australians. We are also committed to increasing the skills and expertise necessary to protect online environments from cyber crime such as data theft.”

Cybersecurity competitions are becoming increasingly popular with national competitions already being run in several countries including the UK, USA and by universities and private companies around the world.