King Saud University and Northrop Grumman Corporation are joining hands in an effort to foster innovation in cyber security among Saudi university students.
 
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide.

The third annual cyber security workshop and competition, CyberArabia, was held on October 11 and October 12, is part of the company’s global commitment to cyber education and workforce development, and will include a cyber-defence competition that recognises winners on both the men’s and women’s campuses across Saudi universities, said a statement.

Walid Abukhaled, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Middle East, said: “We are delighted to partner with King Saud University for the third consecutive year to host the CyberArabia competition.”

“Each year, we witness outstanding and talented students, men and women alike, from across the kingdom come together to put their skills to the test. While the competition is fun, the importance of building cyber skills is quite serious and important to the country,” he said.
 
Dr Jalal Al-Muhtadi, director, Center of Excellence in Information Assurance, King Saud University said: “It is an honour to host the CyberArabia competition. Events such as this help to build a foundation amongst the students in the field of engineering and technology and create awareness about cyber security and the serious threats posed by cyber-attacks.”
 
Following the hands-on workshop portion of CyberArabia, the competition challenges students to find and eradicate cybersecurity vulnerabilities in virtual images of common operating systems. Not only are the students challenged to put their cyber skills to the test, they must do so within a limited time. The structure of the competition helps to reinforce professional skills such as leadership, collaboration, teamwork and communication. Those teams that work best together to quickly identify vulnerabilities and harden their systems will be the most successful, it said.
 
CyberArabia was inspired by and is supported by CyberPatriot, a US-based, youth cyber-defence competition created in 2009 by the non-profit Air Force Association and presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation.

More than 4,400 teams of students participated in CyberPatriot IX last year. In addition, Northrop Grumman has partnered with Cyber Security Challenge UK to sponsor CyberCenturion, the first team-based cyber security contest in the United Kingdom.
 
The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Its mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defence, and to honour airmen and our Air Force heritage. – TradeArabia News Service