The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Atlantic Council, the US State Department and Inha University in Tashkent partnered to bring a multi-disciplinary cyber competition to Uzbekistan.
The first edition of the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge was developed specifically for university students in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. The competition will take place on 11 and 12 July and will include student teams representing academic institutions from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge aims to identify and foster the next generation of leaders to face the cybersecurity challenges of the future. Founded in Washington, D.C. in 2012, the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge provides university students from varied academic disciplines with a deeper understanding of cyber strategy and policy challenges. Since 2012, the competition has expanded to eleven different sites around the world, training and diversifying the cyber talent community.
"The Atlantic Council is thrilled to expand the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge to Central Asia," said Safa Shahwan Edwards, Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative. "This is a tremendous achievement for the Cyber 9/12 competition program, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, and the Atlantic Council as a whole. We are honoured to partner with the US Department of State, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Inha University in Tashkent to support cyber capacity-building efforts and the development of next-generation cyber talent in a key region."
"This competition aims to identify and foster the next generation of leaders to allow us to better prepare for the cybersecurity challenges of the future. I am confident that many of today's participants will become future leaders and contribute to strengthening the cyber resilience of your countries and regions," said Ambassador Clemens Koja, Acting OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.
"The United States seeks to further regional partnerships to address dynamic cybersecurity challenges more effectively. This is a crucial task for protecting both individuals and societies from malicious actors. We are excited to see the participation of talented teams from five countries, and we look forward to continuing to work with our OSCE and Uzbekistani academic and governmental partners to create meaningful opportunities for students from across the region to learn and collaborate on current cyber issues," said the U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick.
To train and develop the next generation of cybersecurity leaders, Cyber 9/12 competitors will assume the role of senior advisors in government, navigating a significant cyber incident impacting the region. Student competitors will gain invaluable and realistic learning experience on the technical, policy and strategy aspects of cybersecurity and connect with senior cybersecurity leaders.
