Cyber Security Challenge of 2013 Names a Champion
The Cyber Security Challenge completed its third competition this week and names Stephen Miller the winner, which brings a lot of attention his way.
The competition is over in a few months, which screams that participants should take a slow and steady approach, because the time period allows for quality work versus the quantity. Stephen Miller, 28, was announced the champion among thousands of other competitors. Miller is a GlaxoSmithKline employee, GlaxoSmithKline discover and produce healthcare products to help those in need.
Miller’s work environment certainly prepared him for the challenge although others from different backgrounds share the winners title from the two previous years of the competition. Miller becomes part of a club along with a Cambridge student, and a former postman.
The purpose of the Cyber Security Challenge is to promote the missing skills needed in the cyber industry, which the UL hopes to bring attention to as well as the appropriate personnel.
The Miller Behind the Medal
Despite Miller’s background he was very surprised to receive the title and admits he was unsure he would prevail. Miller did enter into the first year of the competition, and says he learned more than he expected for his first go in 2010.
Miller found out about the challenge through television while watching BBC, and thought he would try his chances. But his entry wasn’t unwarranted, he had prior knowledge from tampering with web development. His initial intent was not to enter to win, but to test his skills and related knowledge; in order to see if he had what it took. As Miller approached the Masterclass which is the final stage of the Challenge, he had shocked himself at how far he’d come.
In an interview Miller continues to discuss how the competition was more for personal accomplishments than it was a public victory. He wanted to see how he measured up against his competitors. Miller’s participation is backed by his years of applicable skills – sophisticated coding languages in the likes of PHP, JavaScript, and A-Level computing which brought him back-end coding experience.
Take a look at Miller’s interview with Tech Week Europe
He insisted that these skills didn’t play too much towards his winning but when he had to perform various security tasks he could bring his programming knowledge to the forefront. The interesting part is that his skill wasn’t gained intentionally or through any standard method. In a UK interview Miller said;
I’d come across a bit of malware, when friends had managed to download dodgy software from an email or whatever that needed removing. I had a LAN with some friends at the time, as we were doing a bit of gaming, and we had to work out how to remove it.
It was the little things that brought Miller to become prepared, he also noted that it wasn’t any one class or any one book that helped him gain knowledge of a programming language or cyber security tactics.
Miller always seemed to cycle back into referring to malware protection and detection. Except he did give the indication that the resources they provide can be used effectively to propel yourself towards the final stage of the Competition and give oneself a better chance of winning.
The Cyber Security Challenge banks on the application of knowledge more so than how much you know. Maybe the 2014 Challenge will warrant one of our viewers to participate.