Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd., in partnership with Thailand's National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), the Thailand Telecom Computer Emergency Response Team (TTC-CERT), and Siam Thanat Hack Co., Ltd (STH), held the first-ever 'Women: Thailand Cyber Top Talent 2022' competition, offering prize money to the winners totaling over 200,000 THB. The contest aimed to raise awareness of cybersecurity, empower women, and increase the number of cybersecurity workers in the ICT industry.
Air Vice Marshal Amorn Chomchoey, Secretary General of the National Cyber Security Agency, said: "The inaugural Women: Thailand Cyber Top Talent 2022 competition had an impressive 132 teams join in total. The contest aims to support female students and the general public to learn, upskill, and gain more understanding of the cybersecurity field. Our aim is not only to build talent for organizations, but also to empower women to be more aware of opportunities in this field and to help them to achieve their full potential."
He also added that NCSA has a plan to increase the number of cybersecurity workers in Thailand, as currently the country is still short of digital talents, especially on the female side of the workforce. Globally, women account for only 10% of cybersecurity workers, and as little as only 3% in Thailand. The Women: Thailand Cyber Top Talent 2022 competition was therefore held to support gender equality and to increase the number of female students considering entering the cybersecurity industry. NCSA also expressed their deep gratitude towards Huawei Thailand, TTC-CERT, and Siam Thanat Hack for their contributions towards the success of the project.
Huawei Thailand places importance on female empowerment in the ICT sector and aims to support female students and the general public in skills development so that they can become an integral part of Thailand's cybersecurity field. Through partnerships and long-term skill-development programs, such as this first-ever and biggest cybersecurity competition for women in Thailand, Huawei is seeking to increase cybersecurity awareness while addressing workforce shortages in the sector. To reiterate Huawei's focus on women's empowerment and to emphasize that women can fulfill leadership roles, Ms. Agnes Xia, Chief Finance Officer of Huawei Thailand, was honored to present awards to the winners. In addition, Huawei is committed to continue supporting programs and activities that contribute to women's roles, leadership, and knowledge development in order to strengthen Thai society in line with Huawei's mission of "Grow in Thailand, Contribute to Thailand", as well as to drive Thailand towards an intelligent era in which everyone is fully connected.
The Women: Thailand Cyber Top Talent 2022 competition started its first round online on Sunday, 11 December 2022. The competition was divided into two categories: 1) students, comprised of 83 teams and 2) the public, comprised of 49 teams. The competition followed "Capture the Flag" and "Jeopardy" style contests in which contenders chose to start any of the tasks first with each task having a different score. The final round was held on Sunday, 18 December 2022, at Novotel Bangkok in Siam Square where 30 teams competed in the final round for a prize of over 200,000 THB.