Last Cyber Security Challenge finalists named
Three have made it through the Treasure Hunt stage and will head to the Masterclass in March.


The last three finalists who will bid to become the UK's Cyber Security Champion have been named.
This weekend the last of three stages making up the road to the 2010 Cyber Security Challenge UK final was held.
Simon Walker, a software consultant from Tring, was named the winner of the Sophos and SANS Institute Cyber Security Challenge Treasure Hunt.
Alan Steer, an IT support worker from Rugby, came second, whilst RAF engineering officer Jack Dipper from Suffolk came third.
They will all head to The Masterclass, due to be hosted in Bristol at HP Labs on 5 March 2011, along with winners and runners-up of the other two stages.
"I entered Treasure Hunt on the advice of a colleague and I didn't see myself as a serious contender. It's a shock," the winner Walker said.
"Now I've won I am really looking forward to seeing what I can do in the final."
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
James Lyne, senior technologist at Sophos and a member of the Challenge board, said he was highly impressed by the quality of candidates.
"My hope is that this challenge will encourage others to consider cyber security as a phenomenal career option."
IT PRO went to see some of the candidates in the previous challenge, when teams went up against one another in the network security contest.
Some were as young as 17 and still in school, whilst others were university students or graduates.
Tom Brewster is currently an associate editor at Forbes and an award-winning journalist who covers cyber security, surveillance, and privacy. Starting his career at ITPro as a staff writer and working up to a senior staff writer role, Tom has been covering the tech industry for more than ten years and is considered one of the leading journalists in his specialism.
He is a proud alum of the University of Sheffield where he secured an undergraduate degree in English Literature before undertaking a certification from General Assembly in web development.
-
How to implement a four-day week in tech
In-depth More companies are switching to a four-day week as they look to balance employee well-being with productivity
-
Intelligence sharing: The boost for businesses
In-depth Intelligence sharing with peers is essential if critical sectors are to be protected
-
Sophos XGS 126w review: Easy deployment and deep security features
Reviews Only Wi-Fi 5 services, but it delivers Xstream power, lots of security measures, and great remote management
-
Qnap TS-h2490FU QuTS hero edition review: Smash hit flash
Reviews A high-performance NVMe all-Flash array at an unbelievably low price
-
Qsan XCubeNXT XN8024D review: Nice try, but no cigar
Reviews Qsan’s speedy NAS cluster provides automatic failover but no transparency
-
Boston Igloo 2U-60T-STOR review
Reviews Boston’s Igloo is a one very cool unified storage appliance
-
Thecus N5810 review
Reviews This affordable small business NAS has some growing pains
-
Qnap TVS-471U-RP-i3-4G review
Reviews Qnap’s first 10GbE-ready 1U rack NAS can’t keep a cool head
-
Qsan AegisSAN Q500-P20-D424 review
Reviews An ideal IP SAN solution for SMBs with big growth plans for the future
-
Fujitsu Storage Eternus DX60 S3 review
Reviews An affordable, feature-rich IP SAN array for SMBs but deployment presents a steep learning curve