Student Competitions

Deloitte Runs University Cyber Contest as Recruiting Tool

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 08/23/16

In just a couple of weeks students from universities across the country will vie for scholarships (and attention from a potential employer) in the latest Deloitte Foundation Cyber Threat Competition. The program is designed to give people exposure to both the technology and business aspects of cyber risk.

Participating institutions include Georgetown and the University of Southern California, both of which took first place in similar competitions last year, as well as Virginia Tech, Penn State and Purdue.

In the first of the two-round event, which kicks off on September 12, students answer questions and tackle cyber challenges online from their own schools.

Finalists from that set of tests attend a second round at Deloitte University in Westlake, TX, the company's training center. There they play in a cyber war game, in which the teams are presented with and expected to react to various simulated cyber-attack content. Their actions and decisions will be observed and scored by an assigned coach. Then they'll have a few minutes to present a "situation update" to a panel of judges.

Students also gain the opportunity to present to, and meet with, leaders from Deloitte's cyber risk services practice.

"This is a great opportunity for students to see what working at Deloitte would be like and what project work is actually similar to," said Deloitte Advisory Consultant, Amanda Mendieta, in a video about the competition. "Another aspect of this competition that is beneficial to students is the great networking with the top talent Deloitte has to offer. At this competition you'll meet some of the top leadership that we have here at Deloitte for our cyber risk practice. This is a perfect opportunity for students to network and understand what their career path could be like at Deloitte."