The UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) needed to identify the top 18–25-year-old cyber professionals in order to create a team to represent the UK on an international level in Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions.
The UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) needed to identify the top 18–25-year-old cyber professionals in order to create a team to represent the UK on an international level in Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions.
In partnership with SANS Institute – a global leader in cybersecurity education - we designed a multi-stage competition, with the live final taking place in Birmingham in January 2025.
We helped to assess the competitors’ soft skills alongside their individual technical performances in each round, having designed and developed an assessment matrix to compile both quantitative and qualitative data to aid the selection panel. A total of 27 assessors from across the cyber security industry used our matrix following training from Don Evans, our Human Factors SME (subject matter expert).
Our team then de-briefed the competitors’ selected to form the UK Cyber Team and over the course of three weekends, conducted training based on their results - alongside SANS and other elite industry partners. This enabled us to help mentor, train and hone the squad members into a high performing team, allowing them to compete successfully in international CTF competitions as part of the UK Cyber Team.
As a result of our work on this project, we have received some excellent feedback from SANS:
“SANS is proud to have Inzpire as a valued partner in the UK Cyber Team Competition, where their expertise and dedication played a pivotal role in shaping the success of the programme.
“Inzpire ensured that competitors were evaluated not just on their technical abilities, but also on the essential communication, teamwork and leadership skills required to excel in high-pressure environments.
“Inzpire’s real world experience in developing elite teams has added an extra dimension to the training, ensuring that competitors not only refine their cyber expertise, but also gain the confidence and collaborative mindset needed to thrive in high-stakes competitions.
“The feedback from industry leaders has been overwhelmingly positive. Key players have been particularly impressed with the quality of Inzpire’s contributions, highlighting the professionalism of their team.
“We look forward to continuing this strong partnership as we prepare the UK Cyber Team for the exciting challenges ahead!”
Is your organisation cyber-ready? Contact cyber@inzpire.com to learn more about our cyber security services.
