WIREDGOV

Being announced on Ada Lovelace Day, a team of CyberFirst Bursary alumni will be representing the UK at the inaugural Kunoichi Cyber Games taking place at the Code Blue cyber security conference in Tokyo.

The team is made up of young women who have all been a part of the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) CyberFirst Bursary scheme and have subsequently pursued a career in cyber.

The CyberFirst Bursary is a scheme inspired and led by the NCSC, a part of GCHQ, which aims to support and prepare undergraduates for a career in cyber security. 

The team will join women from Japan, the USA and Europe in several competition formats from the cyber security industry.

The games aim to champion women in cyber security and inspire young women to pursue careers in cyber. In the UK only 17% of the workforce are women, and this falls to 14% in senior roles.

Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, said:

“We’re incredibly proud that the team from the UK is made up of CyberFirst Bursary alumni and know that they will do brilliantly representing the UK at the Kunoichi Cyber Games.

“The CyberFirst scheme was created to identify and nurture talented students into hard-to-fill cyber security jobs, offering young people amazing opportunities like this.

“I’d encourage anyone to explore the fantastic opportunities CyberFirst can offer. It may take you to a fantastic career, or even representing your country.”

CyberFirst offers an exciting array of opportunities, from the CyberFirst Bursarythat supports undergraduates through university, to the dynamic CyberFirst Girls Competition, and a range of CyberFirst courses across UK universities and colleges.

Each of these programs is crafted to discover diverse, talented individuals and equip them with the skills, experience, and guidance to become the future front line of defence in making the UK the safest place to live and work online.