Headline: International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC): A globaln event to compete in cyber skills.
Strap: Technological advances may come with a compromise, as they give rise to an ever-increasing cyber-
threat landscape. This year's ICC event in AthensSan Diego, US is inviting young bindsminds to not only test
their cyber skills but also to consider cybersecurity as a profession to build a digitally secure future.
Digital transformation in modern societies has the potential to offer a range of benefits to citizens, organisa-
tions, and governments. Yet, technological advances may come with a compromise, as they give rise to an ever-
increasing cyber-threat landscape. Building a digitally secure society globally is of paramount importance, as cy-
ber-attacks are not confined within geographical limits and can have devastating consequences. According to a
report from the World Economic Forum1, the nature of cyber-attacks has shifted, aiming to disrupt business and
cause reputational damage. Almost half of the interviewed business leaders in the same study believe that their
organisation will experience a cyber-attack within the next two years, arguing that challenges in recruiting and
retaining cybersecurity experts leave their organisations exposed to significant risk.
Challenges in human resources are further illustrated in a cybersecurity workforce study produced by ISC2 2,
where an estimated of 3.4M jobs remain vacant worldwide. The report paints a dire picture, as educational in -
stitutions have increased the number of cybersecurity experts in 2022, yet the gap in the cybersecurity work -
force continues to increase rapidly. The European Commission responding to the market ’s need for cybersecu-
rity professionals has announced an initiative to create a Cybersecurity Skills Academy in 2023 3. The Academy
1 https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Security_Outlook_Report_2023.pdf
2 https://www.isc2.org//-/media/ISC2/Research/2022-WorkForce-Study/ISC2-Cybersecurity-Workforce-Study.ashx
3 See initiative 38, https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2022-10/com_2022_548_1_annexe_en.pdf
will identify the skills needed in cybersecurity and will provide training for people who wish to pursue a relevant
career. Capture the Flag (CTF) events are an excellent way to enhance skills that are essential for a career in cy -
bersecurity and have the potential to underpin a cyber skills Academy. CTFs gamify aspects of cybersecurity
knowledge to make it appealing to younger age groups and educate people on how to stay safe online.
The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) is a major actor in the European Union’s cybersecurity
landscape4. ENISA has been at the forefront of building cybersecurity capacity in EU member states by organis-
ing various exercises and challenges for a wide variety of stakeholders. Since 2016, ENISA has been coordinating
the European Cybersecurity Challenge (ECSC)5 to encourage young people to pursue a career in cybersecurity.
Over the past 6 years, ECSC has attracted the interest of all European Member States, has promoted national
CTFs, and provided the opportunity to thousands of people to enhance their cybersecurity skills.
Building on the success of the ECSC, ENISA, together with several regional and international organisations, de-
cided to design and host for the first time the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC). The aim of ICC is to
attract young talent and raise awareness in the global community on the education and skills needed in cyberse-
curity. By pioneering in designing an international challenge, we believe that the ICC brand will be associated
with the top cybersecurity talents of the world, and we anticipate that ICC will become one of the key incuba-
tors of cybersecurity entrepreneurship and future top security experts.
ENISA hosted the first ICC event in Greece between the 14th – 17th of June 2022, where seven regional teams
comprising fifteen players each and representing more than 40 countries competed in Jeopardy and Attack &
Defence challenges6. To decide on the final players who traveled to Athens, countries who fall within the same
geographical regions convened to create preliminary regional CTFs. More than 4000 people from 64 nations par-
ticipated in such events. In certain cases, ICC enabled countries to host a national CTF for the first time and fur-
ther offered opportunities to all players to enhance their skills by providing training platforms and material over
a period of six months. As ICC requires players to compete in a wide set of challenges, ranging from forensics,
reverse engineering, web exploitation, cryptography, and binary exploitation, to Attack & Defense, escape
4 https://www.enisa.europa.eu/
5 https://ecsc.eu and https://ecsc2022.eu
6 www.icc-games.com
rooms, and hardware, participants of ICC cover the skills needed and the knowledge required for more than
50% of the cybersecurity roles identified in the European Cybersecurity Skills Framework 7. The next ICC event is
organised in San Diego, US from 31st July to 4th August 2023. Regional CTFs are underway, with increased partici-
pation from all regions and the potential to host more teams8.
India Cyber Games (ICG) is a part of the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC) Initiative.
The mission of the India Cyber Games (ICG) is to bring talented cybersecurity athletes, coaches, universities, and
corporate sponsors together to build an elite India Cyber Team (ICT) for the annual International Cybersecurity
Challenge (ICC) as well as other events.
Dr. Ioannis Agrafiotis Dr. Ioannis Agrafiotis, Officer in Capacity Building, ENISA - European Union Agency for Cy-
bersecurity
Mr. Nimitt Jhaveri Chairman - India Cyber Games Initiative
https://indiacyberteam.in
One click to join ourthe ICG community https://discord.gg/hGCFSc8vX6
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7 https://www.enisa.europa.eu/topics/education/european-cybersecurity-skills-framework
8 https://www.ic3.games/
