Paving the way for young security innovators: Kaspersky’s open call for Secur’IT Cup ’22

Kaspersky announces an open call for Secur’IT Cup ’22 – the international competition for talented motivated students, and young researchers seeking to change the world of technology by enhancing its security.

With the increasing penetration of digital technology into our lives, the question of how to make them serve our needs without putting our privacy and data at risk remains. In the same way technology rapidly develops, the cybersecurity industry needs to keep pace by offering valid solutions to deal with security challenges.

For the fifth year, Kaspersky is launching its international Secur'IT Cup '22. Our goal is to support young talent, enabling them to bring innovation to the world of cybersecurity and to turn bright ideas into real solutions that could help solve issues in its landscape.

This year, the contest offers three key areas requiring new solutions:

• Mobile secure – develop a mobile and smart-watch security project to help people around the world protect their privacy and personal data from mobile attacks and cybercrimes.
• Router security – offer new security solutions to protect the "brain" of the IoT, which manages entire networks of devices either for large industrial plants or at home.
• Chess anti-cheating – provide players of a popular chess game with proper detection to protect them from unfair playing.

Kaspersky has been continuously supporting chess development, including its further advancement in the digital space and its expansion to online tournaments.

In addition, this year company has a special category: Family Care, with dedicated sections covering different security aspects:

• The “Elderly Care” section: security projects that can be related to internet security, a health tracker and any other relevant issues for the elderly.
• The “Pet Care” section: for security projects related to both domestic and homeless pets, related to their safety, health, care and other aspects.
• The “Finance for family” section: for security projects on financial planning, a cost tracker or any other aspects related to the control of finances for the whole family or for some family members.

“This year marks the 5th anniversary of the Secur’IT cup that, we can say for sure, has reached its adulthood, and our team is very proud of the project that has already united more 6,000 participants!

A substantial innovation we’ve initiated last year -and continue in 2022- is to add socially responsible categories to our scope. We think it really is important not only to look for solutions for technological issues in cybersecurity, but also to contribute to building awareness of how cybersecurity solutions may influence the lives of vulnerable groups of people. We hope to keep up this pace in future! And wish all our participants creativity, innovative thinking and to make the best out of their experience as they engage in our competition,” says Evgeniya Russkikh, Academic Affairs Group Manager at Kaspersky Academy.

Online registration for the competition closes on 7th November 2022. After that, participants will have two weeks more, until 20th November 2022, to submit a detailed project description or research abstract, and project prototype. An expert jury consisting of industry experts and a Kaspersky team will consider all the projects and select a shortlist for the final. Entrants can participate individually or in teams. In addition, the Kaspersky Academy will organize a series of local events in Asia Pacific, Russia and CIS, and META region to help students get involved in the global competition easily. Dates for these events to be announced later.

The final event will take place online on 14th December 2022 and the winner will be awarded $10,000. Second place winners will receive cover of the professional certification of their choice (i.e. CISSP, CISA, CISM, etc.). Those in third place will be given the opportunity to attend a professional course of their choice on one of the global MOOC-platforms.

Detailed information about the application procedure and deadlines for Secur'IT Cup '22 can be found on the competition's official website.