SAN ANTONIO - A cyber security competition drew some of the brightest students in the country to the Alamo City. With them came recruiters for some of the top companies in the nation.
This is the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition hosted by UTSA in downtown San Antonio and is known for drawing the best of the best cyber security students.
Ten teams of college students are handed real world puzzles that remained secret even to our cameras. In the next room are the hackers they're trying to beat.
“The people who come to this competition really are the best,” said Michael Williams of the cyber security company Raytheon, the company sponsored the event. “We're looking for cyber talent and we are finding the best right here."
Experts in the field of cyber security say that there is a huge shortage of talent across the country.
“The numbers range from anywhere from 100,000 to a million unfilled positions. We're not talking about how many positions are out there, we're talking about the number of positions that will not be filled in the near future,” said Gregory White of the UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security.
By 2020, some projections show the industry will be short two million workers, which is leading to a rush to hire bright minds.
“A few years ago we had sponsors that were handing out job offers during the competition to some of these students,” said White.
Companies now have to wait until the collegiate competition is over before making any offers, but one thing that won't change soon is the rivalry to recruit the best.
More information about the competition can be found at the NCCDC website.