TalTech and CR14 sign agreement to promote youth cyber defence competitions

The CR14 foundation established by the Ministry of Defence, and the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) signed a cooperation agreement to advance the competence of Estonian school children and students in the field of cybersecurity. According to the agreement, CR14 will take over the leadership role of organising the CyberSpike (KüberNaaskel) competition.  

For CR14, which has already played different roles in CyberSpike competitions, this long-term agreement is important: "Taking the leadership role in the organisation of CyberSpike gives us the opportunity to make even better use of our resources in cybersecurity training and offer greater added value to the whole of Estonia through our Open Cyber ​​Range," commented the research and development manager of CR14, Hannes Krause. He added that TalTech is an irreplaceable partner in the field of cyber exercises, and such strong and dedicated cooperation in organising competitions is a step towards the stable development of the field. 

According to Birgy Lorenz, senior researcher at the IT College and TalTech project manager for cyber competitions, the university has long-term experience in organising cyber competitions, and the Ministry of Defence has supported these activities since 2017. "We signed this cooperation agreement so that the best practices could be implemented faster, and we could jointly develop cyber exercises and training in Estonia," said Lorenz. She emphasized that as a result of the joint effort of the parties, it is possible to popularise cybersecurity among Estonian youth. For this, TalTech will be organising KüberPuuring and KüberPähkel competitions, as well as supporting the CyberSpike competition, camps for the young talents and participation in the European Cyber ​​Security Challenge, confirmed Lorenz. 

Gert Jervan, the dean of TalTech School of IT, noted that although 75,000 young people have participated in the cybersecurity competitions organised by TalTech over the past 15 years, we must constantly contribute to maintain our expertise in Europe and the world. "The university contributes a lot to society both in terms of higher education and research, but equally important work needs to be done among the school children to find those with potential in the field of cybersecurity and develop it later in life and career," said Jervan. 

Founded by the Ministry of Defence, CR14 manages a unique and reliable infrastructure of cyber ranges, offering cyber security training and other cyber security services to partners within the framework of international and domestic cooperation. 

TalTech School of Information Technologies prepares specialists with bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in one of the fastest developing fields of science and technology, which is information and communication technology. Research and development activities at a good international level and cooperation with companies create the basis for high-quality research-based learning activities. 

This article was first published on 8 May by TalTech.