Nationwide search for Sri Lanka’s most secure coder begins Friday

Supporting the country’s target of earning $ 5 b through software exports and related services, a nationwide hunt to find Sri Lanka’s Most Secure Coder will be launched on Friday at Colombo Hilton at 7.00 p.m.

Titled ‘CodeCraft’, the hunt is a nationwide competition for university students, professionals, colleges, and corporates engaged in software development.

The competition will be jointly launched by Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Harin Fernando and Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella.

“The event will bring together existing and aspiring security enthusiasts from all fields of the infosec world, from corporate and Government bodies to academic institutions,” CICRA Holdings Director/CEO Boshan Dayaratne said.

“This competition aims to develop the secure coding skills of Sri Lankan software developers, programmers and quality controllers. Students following a degree in software development are also encouraged to apply,” Dayaratne said.

“The competition is conducted through an internationally renowned testing platform of the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council), USA,” he said. 

CodeCraft is an online competition where programmers will complete multiple choice questions in a limited period of time. There will be a negative mark for every wrong answer.

After every round, 10% of participants will move to the next round before finally moving to the finale.

The event will be conducted in three parts, preliminary, semi-finals and finals, culminating in identifying the top programmers in the country.

CodeCraft is organised by CICRA, Sri Lanka’s pioneering cyber security training and consultancy organisation and Daily FT, the country’s only business and finance newspaper.

The CodeCraft competition has been endorsed by the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, Ministry of Higher Education and Highways, University Grants Commission, ICT Agency of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM).

The Strategic Partners of the competition are Microsoft, London Stock Exchange and Dialog; the Official Banker is the Bank of Ceylon.

The competition is supported by Print Media Partners Daily FT, Daily Mirror, The Sunday Times, Lankadeepa, Ada and Virakesari. The Electronic Media Partners of the competition are Derana TV, Ada Derena, Derana FM and Derana24x7.