China’s Hacker Army Outshines America [Video]

Hacking competitions in China have surged over recent years, supported by strong government backing and rising public interest, raising alarm in the U.S., where officials are warning that the widening cyber skills gap is placing America at a strategic disadvantage and posing national security risks.

China has made great strides since President Xi Jinping‘s call for the nation to become a “cyber powerhouse” a decade ago. University programs in cybersecurity have been standardized, a National Cybersecurity Talent and Innovation Base capable of certifying 70,000 cybersecurity experts per year was established, and hacking competitions—many touting their alignment with Xi’s “powerhouse” ambition—have proliferated.

“China has built the world’s most comprehensive ecosystem for capture-the-flag (CTF) competitions—the predominant form of hacking competitions, ranging from team-versus-team play to Jeopardy-style knowledge challenges,” the Washington, D.C.-based Atlantic Council think tank observed in a recent report.

In cybersecurity, CTF competitions are games where participants solve security challenges to capture hidden pieces of data (the “flags”) in systems, websites, or applications. …