Microsoft is sponsoring an online competition for technology professionals to find the ultimate European IT security expert. The Gatekeeper Test, which runs for two weeks in May, sets a series of security challenges designed to show contestantsÅf knowledge of IT security issues.
Registration is now open and participants can apply by visiting www.microsoft.com/emea/gatekeepertest/. The competition begins on 2 May and finishes two weeks later on 14 May. The winners will be announced on 25 May, when the title of European Gatekeeper Champion 2005 will be awarded to the highest scoring individual from across all countries.
Microsoft is encouraging Irish IT professionals to enter the contest, which was open to Dutch IT professionals for the past two years. This year the competition is being extended to a total of 19 countries around Europe.
The Gatekeeper Test consists of 20 questions, based on a range of current security issues. The first 19 questions are multiple choice, with only the last question requiring an open answer. Every day of the competition, two new questions are released at 9am GMT and participants have between 30 and 90 seconds, depending on the question, to submit their answer. There is a sliding scale of bonus points available for participants who correctly answer questions within 22 hours of when they are published.
A jury of security experts will judge the answers to the final open question and thus determine the end result. The European Gatekeeper Champion will win a VIP trip to Microsoft TechEd 2005 conference, which is being held in Amsterdam. The winner from each country wins a tablet PC or Media Centre PC. The top-scoring individuals from Ireland will receive free subscriptions to Microsoft TechNet Magazine and Windows IT Pro Magazine.
By Gordon Smith
