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U.S. Cyber Challenge Crowns Hacker Champ

by Terrence O'Brien on December 21, 2009 at 05:15 PM

U.S. Cyber Challenge Crowns Hacker ChampLast week, the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a nationwide recruiting venture for America's digital army, was wrapped up when 21-year-old Chris Benedict, of Nauvoo, Illinois, was crowned, in CNN's words, "king of the hacker hill." The series of three competitions, which pitted hackers from around the country against one another and included an electronic version of Capture the Flag, was launched this July in an effort to fortify the United States' cyber-defenses.

Organizers at the Federal Government's Center for Strategic and International Studies launched the search as a response to the country's perceived failure in developing computer experts at a rate comparable to other countries. Nations like China, for instance, boast well-developed programs in the areas of both electronic espionage and cyber warfare. Not only did the competition reveal skilled users who might otherwise have gone undiscovered, but it may have also helped some hackers to realize that their abilities have legitimate applications.

The U.S. Cyber Challenge is an important part of the government's new focus on Internet security, and has a stated goal of finding 10,000 new "cyber security practitioners, researchers, and warriors." Those warriors, like Chris Benedict or 17-year-old Connecticut high school student Michael Coppola, will often be young and come from unexpected places, making such nationwide, online searches that much more important. [From: CNN]

Tags: cyber security, CyberSecurity, government, hackers, security, top, u.s. cyber challenge, U.s.CyberChallenge

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