Peak Geek national challenge witnesses local teams triumph

By Yuan Shenggao | China Daily | Updated: 2018-09-26 07:55

A fiercely cybersecurity competition held recently in Chengdu has highlighted the city's strengths in promoting cybersecurity and attracting and developing leading professionals in the field, according to the local government.

The Peak Geek Cybersecurity Skills Challenge - part of the 2018 China Cybersecurity Week - was held in Chengdu on Sept 15-16.

The finals of the event saw 30 teams defend a virtual city from a simulated cyberattack that lasted 32 hours. The game tested the contestants cybersecurity skills as attackers, defenders and public network law enforcement officers and revealed various problems facing a city that could result from internet attacks. The challenge, since its launch in June, has attracted 3,263 teams and over 10,000 participants from 30 provinces and regions around China, the largest of its kind in scale.

The teams included 131 ones from leading internet safety companies, 24 from seven first-class cybersecurity demonstration projects at colleges and many top internet teams.

After fierce competition, the 4WebDogs team from Chengdu won first prize.

Another team consisting of four police officers from Chengdu won second prize.

Meanwhile, the competition's organizing committee announced they had made Chengdu the permanent venue for hosting the event based on its unique advantages in relation to the cybersecurity industries.

Chengdu is one of the first batch of software cities in China. It is home to many important domestic cyberserurity scientific institutes, product research centers and is a base for cultivating talented people in the field.

"The competition was very innovative in introducing a virtual city platform," said Yan Ming, director of the computer safety commission at the China Computer Federation, adding that the competition achieved high standards in terms of its extensive participation and innovative format.

"The quantity and quality of the contestants was the best," Yan said.

Chengdu's software and information services industry has become a strategic pillar industry to drive the rapid and sustainable development of the city's economy.

Yan said that Chengdu has made great efforts in boosting its information and cybersecurity industries and the city is outstanding in the sector with a better understanding, a specific strategic plan and a variety of activities.

In recent years, Chengdu has attracted a large workforce of professionals specializing in internet technologies amid the fast development of the electronics and information industry and has become a popular magnet attracting talented people from across the country.

Zhou Wen, vice-president of Chengdu-based Westone Information Industry Inc, said that the city is innovative, open and inclusive, with a high-quality environment that draws professionals from home and abroad.

Meanwhile, Chengdu is home to renowned universities such as Sichuan University and University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and is a gathering place for many top domestic experts and academicians in information technology.

Chen Xingshu, deputy dean with the College of Cybersecurity at Sichuan University, said that the key for professionals is whether they could have a better future in Chengdu.

Chengdu has the advantage in industries, universities and research institutes, which makes it attractive to top professionals who want to gain a broader view and knowledge for their further career development.

Statistics show that Chengdu has a series of national research institutes and more than 100 State-level research platforms - covering areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum communications. The city has one first-class college demonstration project in cybersecurity and there are five universities in Chengdu offering cybersecurity subjects.

Many companies, including leading Chinese tech company AsiaInfo and security services provider Venustech, have joined hands with universities and research institutes in Chengdu to launch cooperative projects to train and develop professionals in information safety and related new technologies.