McAfee hosts first Cyber Security Summit for students

McAfee is hosting Australia’s first dedicated cyber security summit for senior high school and tertiary students on 30th October at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney and it is free.

The event is open to high school students in Years 11 and 12, TAFE students and university undergraduates and will take place in conjunction with McAfee’s MPOWER APAC cyber security summit. McAfee is expecting around 200–300 student registrations.

The summit will include keynotes from McAfee’s Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer Chatelle Lynch and Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer Steve Grobman. The agenda will include:

• Sessions with the latest in hacking and exploits from two leading white hat hackers
• A student hosted panel on how to get a job in cybersecurity
• A 'Tales from the dark web' session.

Students will also have access to exhibitor booths to network with potential employers and learn more about the industry. McAfee will also be hosting competitions to win free training.

The event forms part of McAfee’s ongoing efforts to address the cyber security talent gap and ensure new industry entrants are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to flourish in a cyber security role. 

According to Ian Yip, Chief Technology Officer APAC, McAfee said: "very few graduates are being equipped with the skills they need to succeed. The education sector finds it challenging to keep up with the rate of change in the cyber security industry. What students are learning now becomes out of date due to constantly evolving attack methods.

“At the same time, we’ll need to fill over 7500 Australian cyber security roles by 2026 to meet industry demand.