WiCyS Members Now Have Access to Cyber Defense Challenge Through Target

PRESS RELEASE

COOKEVILLE, Tenn., March 25, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Target's cybersecurity team has designed a Cyber Defense Challenge exclusively for members of Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS).

This unique program will provide hands-on experience, giving WiCyS members a taste of what it's like to be on a Fortune 50 cyber defense team. From tackling intel-driven scenarios and understanding the threat actor behind malicious behaviors to analyzing malware that threat actors deploy in their victim's systems, this challenge offers many learning opportunities.

Participants will build upon Strelka, a well-known cyber defense tool for threat detection. This engaging program is for WiCyS members to dive in, gain new learning experiences, network with an inclusive cohort of peers, work one-on-one with the Target global cybersecurity team, and explore what threat detection and intelligence are about.

Participants will learn through each tier by being part of the cyber defense team preventing cyberattacks by a known threat actor in a fictional scenario. The first tier will investigate and report on the actor's malicious document by using malware analysis tools and techniques. In the second tier, they will discover a payload the actor uses in attacks and analyze and report findings to the team. In the third tier, they will parse and extract the actor's indicators that a compromise occurred to further help the team protect against future threats.

It is helpful to have some background in development and an understanding of Python and cryptography, but no previous cybersecurity experience is required to join this training.

After going through the program, participants will learn how threat actors think, explore how to leverage threat intelligence to write detection, gain experience working with different roles on a cyber defense team, contribute to open-source technology and build their network by joining the cohort. The top 10 participants will also receive a scholarship to attend the 2023 Women in CyberSecurity Conference.

Registration runs March 17 through April 7. For more information, visit https://www.wicys.org/benefits/cyber-defense-challenge-made-possible-by-target/.

About WiCyS:

Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) is the premier nonprofit organization with international reach dedicated to bringing together women in cybersecurity. Founded by Dr. Ambareen Siraj from Tennessee Tech University through a National Science Foundation grant in 2013, WiCyS offers opportunities and resources for its members and collaboration benefits for its sponsors and partners. Strategic partners include Tier 1: Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg, Carnegie Mellon University – Software Engineering Institute, Cisco, Fortinet, Google, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Microsoft, Optum, SentinelOne. Tier 2: Abbvie, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Linkedin, McKesson, Navy Federal Credit Union, Nike, Wayfair, Workday. Tier 3: Haystack Solutions, MITRE, Smoothstack. To partner, visit https://www.wicys.org/support/strategic-partnerships/.

Media Contact

Lynn Dohm, Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), 815-530-7307, [email protected]

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SOURCE Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS)