A team of Kent students competed in an ethical hacking event for the 13 UK Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSRs).

The first Inter-ACE Cyberchallenge at the University of Cambridge intended to promote interest in practical cyber security and to foster links between the students at the ACE-CSRs.

The main competition was a team-based ‘capture the flag’ challenge, with one team per academic centre facing each other in Cambridge on 23 April 2016.

The Kent team consisted of Jordan Orlebar, Stuart Stobie, Jean-Paul Duah, Dave Davis with captain Tom Sloan, all from the School of Computing. The competition was followed by a formal dinner in a Cambridge college.

There was also a second individual competition, with competitors connecting remotely. MSc student Jean Lejeune represented the School in this competition.

PhD Student Tom Sloan said:

‘It was a fantastic experience and a great opportunity to bring people together and show off the skills of upcoming cyber security enthusiasts. One of the most important things we learned from this event, and something that was heavily discussed throughout, was the significance of bringing these universities together to promote cyber security in a fun way.’
The University of Kent’s Cybersecurity centre was recognised as an ACE-CSR by GCHQ and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in 2015.