At the national competition finals for CyberTitan in Ottawa, ten teams of middle and high school students from across Canada competed in the second annual CyberTitan National Finals. Earl Haig Secondary School’s team managed to defend the reigning title of championship team.
CyberTitan is a Canadian cybersecurity education initiative that promotes education and awareness in technology education and is focused on fostering excellence in students pursuing careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. It seeks to prepare the next generation of students with the skills necessary to protect our governments, industries, and individuals from global cyber security threats.
The competition began with 189 CyberTitan Teams (over 1,000 cyber ninjas) vying to earn 1 of 10 coveted spots for an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the CyberTitan National Finals. Not only were our CyberTitan teams competing against each other for a spot in the finals, they were also competing against approximately 5,000 teams globally for the CyberPatriot finals that took place in April.
After spending more than 18 hours competing over 4 months while also learning practical and important technical, business and cybersecurity skills, 10 teams from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick emerged as the CyberTitan finalists. The teams competed in a 9-hour competition using a cruise ship disaster simulation. Teams were judged on two components: Digital Forensics Response and Vulnerability Management.
Growing the CyberTitan initiative year over year will only help position Canada as a global leader in cyber security. The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) seeks to empower Canadian youth through innovative programs that promote 21st century skills, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, cyber, emerging trends, & technology in education. With exemplary programs like Focus on Information Technology (FIT) and CyberTitan, ICTC is able to provide the building blocks and pathways for youth to fully participate in the digital economy and for educators to deliver world-class education opportunities to youth in cyber security that will support the future workforce.