51Âþ»­

Top cyber security experts are flocking to 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) to help deliver a packed week of insightful events and practical challenges.

The annual #51Âþ»­CyberWeek – taking place from Monday 25 February to Friday 1 March - will kick off by giving students in the School of Computer Science and Informatics invaluable insight in to career opportunities.

The day will include input from Leicestershire Police’s cybercrime unit, work placement advice from cyber security experts at 51Âþ»­ and #51Âþ»­works - the university’s careers programme - as well as talks from graduates working at Reuters and Santander.

Co-ordinated by 51Âþ»­'s Cyber Technology Institute (CTI), the week will feature a one-day conference by the Research Institute in Trustworthy Inter-connected Cyber-physical Systems (RITICS), a portal to cutting-edge UK research into the cybersecurity.

The conference will include a keynote talk from the National Cyber Security Centre, a topical panel discussion, highlights from the RITICS programme, and presentations on some of the cutting-edge research taking place at 51Âþ»­. 

A full day with representatives from Airbus will include talks on topics such as cyber peacekeeping and an interactive ‘corporate incident response’ exercise led by 51Âþ»­ graduate and visiting professor Dr Kevin Jones, head of cyber security architecture, innovation and scouting at Airbus. 

Students will also benefit from hands-on activities with Check Point Software Technologies, such as checking security logs and forensic reports, while cyber security specialists Nettitude will deliver a Red Capture the Flag (CTF) competition with challenges involving web application and infrastructure hacking, as well as a live phishing challenge. 

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Final-year student and chairperson Chris Hatton will be taking part in a range of interactive events during the week.

He said: “It’s what we enjoy doing in our spare time with 51Âþ»­ Hackers, so I’m always up for anything competitive. 

“It keeps me on my toes and is really good practice. So much of what I know comes from taking part in CTF competitions and every time I come away with more knowledge.

“#51Âþ»­CyberWeek is also great for putting you in front of people who might ultimately employ you. It’s good exposure to not just the companies coming in, but also other individuals who are well-connected.”

Other practical sessions will include a workshop with Limes Security based on Zero Down Time - a game developed to raise awareness of industrial control system security - as well as a CTF competition recently featured at BruCON, Belgium's annual security and hacker conference.

Eerke Boiten, a professor in Cyber Security at 51Âþ»­, said: “The CTI has excellent relationships with industry making #51Âþ»­CyberWeek an important opportunity for our students to meet potential employers and for our partners to meet the future talent of their industry.

“This year, we’re particularly fortunate to be hosting the RITICS conference, which boasts one of the biggest national academic networks and is a huge source of industry partners.”