President Obama has chimed in with a directive to review the nations cyber security as it relates to security and our critical infrastructures.

CNN recently reported about the “U.S. Cyber Challenge” to find and develop 10,000 cybersecurity specialists to help the U.S. regain the lead in cyberspace. In its simplest form, the U.S. Cyber Challenge participants are white-hats in training who play a game called NetWars, which is an online version of Capture the Flag, with competitors vying to penetrate and take control of target computer systems and then protect them from other intruders.

Hackers in this contest range from as young as 17 to 21 with perhaps little formal computer education who, nonetheless, could contribute to the defense of the nation’s cyber-networks. In many cases, organizers of the U.S. Cyber Challenge say, hackers’ skills go unrecognized or unappreciated by those around them and sometimes even by themselves.

“Organizers say the competition is aimed at identifying young people with exceptional computer skills and inspiring them to join the country’s woefully understaffed ranks of cybersecurity specialists needed to protect systems used by the military, industry and everyday people.”

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