Recap of the 2023 TAFEcyber | Retrospect Labs Student Challenge: A Cyber Security Win
Following the resounding success of the 2022 Challenge, Retrospect Labs once again played host to the 2023 TAFEcyber | Retrospect Labs Student Challenge. This year's event saw students engage in a hands-on cyber-security exercise, centred around an incident response competition. Leveraging Retrospect Labs' cutting-edge cyber security platform, Gauntlet, participants delved into technical components while also addressing critical incidents, forensics, communications, and legal and privacy concerns.
Designed for students pursuing the Certificate IV or Advanced Diploma in Cyber Security, the challenge presented a unique opportunity for participants to immerse themselves in an innovative industry-related challenge. Beyond the technical aspects, the event aimed to equip students with practical experience in handling cyber-security scenarios, preparing them for the challenges they may encounter in the workforce.
With a remarkable turnout of 115 students forming 27 teams across the nation, the challenge covered a spectrum of skills, including technical forensic analysis, communication and social skills for scenario-based interactions, and effective writing for executive briefs.
Teams were tasked with completing a series of challenges within 10 days, including:
Forensically analyse real artefacts and piece together the events of the incident
Construct network diagrams and security briefings
Respond to the media
Consider legal and privacy implications
Brief executives and make recommendations.
This immersive experience aimed to simulate real-world cyber security challenges and test participants' abilities to respond promptly and effectively.
With four TAFE lecturers as guest judges, the teams were meticulously evaluated in four key areas:
Technical analysis and findings
Presentation of a comprehensive media statement
Understanding of legal obligations and considerations
High-level and professional C-Suite update.
The highly anticipated closing ceremony revealed the South Metropolitan TAFE team 'data daemons' as the triumphant winners, closely followed by two teams from Victoria University, 'Third Eye Security Team (TEST)' and 'Team Supergreen,' securing second and third places respectively.
The winning team highlighted their positive experience, with 'perseverance' emerging as a common theme among participants:
“Definitely get involved! I learnt so many skills! Exposure to the incident response tools were invaluable and provided a great foundation for future incident response studies." — Christine
“This challenge would have been worth the time and energy, whether we placed or not. We thoroughly enjoyed the forensics and chasing that 'gotcha' moment.” — Matt
“As difficult and technical as it all may seem, perseverance is paramount. Our team was almost ready to give up at one point, but we stuck it through and even managed to come out of it as the top team of the competition!" — Ronan
The 2023 TAFEcyber | Retrospect Labs Student Challenge was a resounding success, offering students a practical and immersive experience in the world of cyber security. As the curtain fell on this year's event, the positive feedback and lessons learned from participants underscored the value of perseverance and adaptability in the face of challenging scenarios.
The winning team had the opportunity of two mentor sessions - one with Retrospect Labs and the other with the Australia Cyber Security Centre in Perth, to discuss all things cyber including career paths and opportunities.
The 2024 Challenge will be coming soon; information will be posted on TAFEcyber channels.