Enhancing Cybersecurity Culture and Resilience

Develop innovative strategies and tools that promote a culture of cybersecurity in Canadian businesses.

groups

Teams of
2 - 4 people

Challenge Details

*You must complete your team (have 2-4 people registered on your team) by Friday, Nov. 29 at midnight (ET)*

What’s the Challenge?

In teams of 2-4, you will choose to develop a solution in one of the following two categories:

Strategic plan to promote a strong cybersecurity culture within an organization
Your team will design a comprehensive strategic plan aimed at promoting a strong cybersecurity culture within organizations. This plan should focus on:

Employee Behavior: Identify key behaviors that contribute to a secure environment and methods to encourage these behaviors among all employees.

Training Programs: Develop a training plan that is not just compliance-focused, but resonates with employees and emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity in their daily roles. Create and present one example of a module that might exist in this training plan.

Communication Strategies: Craft internal communication plans that effectively disseminate cybersecurity information and updates, fostering an ongoing dialogue around security practices.
Cybersecurity risk assessment template for small businesses
Your team will create a user-friendly cybersecurity risk assessment template specifically tailored for startups and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), with a focus on those lacking robust security infrastructures, particularly non-profits and charities. The assessment should include:

Identifiable Risks: Key cybersecurity threats that are particularly relevant to SMEs and non-profits.

Mitigation Strategies: Practical recommendations that organizations can implement based on their unique challenges.

Implementation Guidelines: Clear steps for organizations to assess their cybersecurity culture and prioritize improvements.

Your solutions will be judged by a panel of cybersecurity experts, and the top five teams will be invited back to present their solution to the jury at the virtual finale event on Monday, December 9.

See full details and timeline below:

REGISTRATION PHASE AND KICKOFF EVENT
October 31 - November 29, 2024

Create or join a team of 2-4 students and register for the challenge by November 29 at midnight ET.

On Friday, November 29, attend the virtual challenge kickoff event where we will reveal the full details and requirements for your solutions. At this event, you'll also hear from an expert speaker in the industry who will give advice for the challenge and insights about the cybersecurity landscape in Canada.

Challenge Kickoff - virtual on Microsoft Teams

4:00-5:00 pm (ET)

STEP 1: DEVELOPMENT

November 30 - December 1, 2024

After the kickoff event, your team has 2 days to work on your solution. You must submit your completed project by 11:59PM (ET) on Sunday, December 1. The deliverable for this stage is a PDF of your solution (8 pages MAXIMUM). Your project must be new and never presented before, it is your job to be innovative and bring a fresh idea to the table.

Your solutions will be judged by a panel of cybersecurity experts between December 2-3. Up to five teams will be selected to move on to the finale. The finalist teams will be notified on December 4.

STEP 2: THE FINAL PITCH
December 9, 2024

Between December 4-9, the top five teams will have time to finalize their project and prepare a ten-minute presentation. These teams will pitch their solutions to the jury at a live virtual event on December 9, 2024. The top three teams will win cash prizes!

Evaluation Criteria

ORIGINALITY & INNOVATION - 30%

Does the project offer an original, innovative approach to addressing the selected problem? Is the project ambitious or creative within the constraints of the challenge timeline?

TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE - 30%

Does the team make effective and appropriate use of the main features of the selected tools and technologies? Does the team effectively communicate a solution to the challenge?

TEAM DIVERSITY & COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS - 10%

Does the team reflect diversity of skills and abilities? Does the team have a complementary skill set that enables them to tackle the different aspects of your project?

IMPACT & FEASIBILTY - 30%

Does the project address a clear need, problem, or opportunity? Does the project fit the problem it addresses? Does the team have a credible plan for implementing their proposed solution and does the solution have a good product/market fit?

Eligibility/Rules

Must be a Canadian post-secondary student (including abroad) or an international student in a Canadian post-secondary school
Teams must be 2-4 people
All team members must be currently enrolled in a post-secondary school
Note: we will require documentation of the above to process any prizing
Must not have used this idea in previous pitch events, school projects, grant proposals, etc.