Cuomo: Hackers Needed

This fall, Governor Cuomo is throwing down the gauntlet to hackers in New York. He wants the best of them to battle it out for scholarships to an elite workforce training program and top jobs in cybersecurity.

The state cybersecurity championship will be organized by Cyber Aces, and this fall, students, veterans and jobseekers will complete online training modules to develop their basic cyberskills and compete to earn a place at the Governor's Cyber Aces State Championship in spring 2014. The championship event will be run through NetWars: a hands-on, interactive learning environment used by the U.S. military. The top performers will earn invitations to the upcoming NY Cyber Aces Academy: an elite, hands-on training program that emphasizes "stick time" and puts them on a fast-track to high-paying cybersecurity careers.

The cyber workforce is highly in demand, with cyberattacks increasing faster than technologists can counter them. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned of a "Cyber Pearl Harbor," adding, "Our most important investment is in skilled cyber warriors needed to conduct operations in cyberspace."

"Similar to our shortage of fighter pilots at the start of World War II, now we have a critical shortage of skilled cyber defenders," said Cyber Aces Founder Alan Paller. "And like the pilot training programs of that era, Cyber Aces initiatives like this state championship are how we will create the specialists we need."

All high school and college students, veterans and jobseekers in New York are eligible to take a shot at earning an invitation to the championship. Registration is live at www.cyberaces.org. Here, participants take a series of online tutorials and quizzes, and the top scorers will receive championship invitations.