Fake news on agenda at IIT Kanpur's global cyber security competition

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) is gearing up to host an international-level cyber security competition in collaboration with institutions based in the US, Israel and other countries.

One of the themes of the competition is creating a policy position for fighting the phenomenon of fake news over social media platforms and encouraging professionals drawn from varied fields to counter this growing menace.

The final rounds of this global competition will be held during November 9-17, 2017, in India, Brooklyn, Abu Dhabi, France and Israel.

This would be the second edition of the world’s biggest student-run cyber security event, Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW), which was founded 14 years ago by the New York University (NYU) Tandon School of Engineering.

In 2016, NYU Tandon had collaborated with IIT-K and NYU Abu Dhabi Center for Cyber Security to widen CSAW beyond Brooklyn, New York, via simultaneous final rounds in the Middle East, North Africa and India.

This year, IT students from Canada and Mexico could also qualify for finals in Brooklyn, an IIT-K communiqué said in Lucknow on Monday. 

The competition challenges the participants’ knowledge of virtually all aspects of information security, from hardware and software penetration testing and protection to digital forensics and government policy.

At the regional CSAW campuses, students network with top professionals, hear experts address emerging issues, meet recruiters and compete with teams from other institutions.

 “Since data knows no borders, and national boundaries offer no impediment to attackers, data security is indeed a global issue,” professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NYU Tandon and lead faculty member for CSAW Ramesh Karri said.

He further said collaboration was critical, “Those who protect our personal privacy and institutions must transcend borders and work across regions. A key challenge will be cultivating new data-security talent to meet demand.”

In the backdrop of digitalisation and commensurate global cyber security threat, there is a projected shortfall of 1.5 million cyber security professionals by 2020.

“IIT Kanpur recognises the acute shortage of cyber security expertise and hopes the event encourages students to participate and get excited about a career in cyber security. We organise this competition as a mandate for our Interdisciplinary Center for Cyber Security at IIT Kanpur to enhance manpower in this field,” IIT-K deputy director Manindra Agrawal said.

IIT-K Computer Science and Engineering Department head Sandeep Shukla said the institute hoped to increase the visibility of the need of cyber security among Indian students.

“This year, our policy competition is on creating a policy position for fighting the fake news endemic -- which is a problem worldwide. We hope students in law, public policy, public administration or other relevant fields will collaborate with engineering students to create multi-institute teams to brainstorm this problem arising due to the insurgence of social media,” he added.