Student entrepreneur launches TryHackMe to help fill the cyber skills gap
27 February 2019
Ben Spring, an entrepreneurial student from the University of Portsmouth has developed an online platform called TryHackMe to run Capture the Flag events along with cyber security workshops, training and online courses.
The first HackBack CTF event for universities takes place on Saturday 9 March and is sponsored by Context Information Security where Ben did an internship.
Teams from over 14 universities have already signed up and Ben hopes to attract more students interested in careers in cyber security. There will be challenges and questions to suit all levels across six categories: Web Exploitation, Forensics, OSINT, Scripting, Networking and Reverse Engineering.
"I have created TryHackMe as a way to get others learning cyber security in an enjoyable and interactive way,” said Ben Spring. “Having a platform to deploy deliberately vulnerable machines in the cloud with supporting tutorials and questions, allows individuals with different skill sets to learn at their own pace. We now have over 1,000 members registered and our platform is starting to be used within universities teaching Computer Science and Ethical Hacking. I hope that TryHackMe will be used by universities and companies around the world to attract and train more people for careers in cyber-security."
The first HackBack event is being sponsored by Context Information Security, where Ben did an internship in 2018. “At Context we are passionate about helping to develop and assist new talent into the industry. Whether this be people looking to change careers or young people seeking their first job, we want to help,” said Tom Williams, Head of Business Operations at Context Information Security. “As an organisation we recognise the cyber skills gap and are committed to playing our part in helping to address this. We have strong relationships with a number of universities, and regularly deliver training workshops and talks to students on how they can get into the industry. We are also proud sponsors of the Hack The Box platform and TryHackMe, as we see these as great resources that anyone can use to develop and enhance their skills. The Hack Back CTF is a great event, developed by someone with strong links to Context and we are keen to support Ben with this great initiative.”
The inaugural online HackBack event takes place on Saturday 9 March from 10:00-15:00. For more information email hello@tryhackme.com or visit https://tryhackme.com/hackback
For more information on Context, visit https://www.contextis.com/