DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced the winners of its global Capture The Flag (CTF), an annual competition designed to help fill cybersecurity skills gaps in the most critical areas of need. Now in its fourth year, the Trend Micro CTF 2018 – Raimund Genes Cup invites teams from around the world to compete, strengthening the talent of young industry professionals.

“Our industry desperately needs more talented young professionals to grow in their cybersecurity career,” said Eva Chen, co-founder and chief executive officer for Trend Micro. “There is a gap between skills learned through classroom education and the practical experience needed to protect organizations. Our global and regional CTF events help address this long-running challenge by providing real-world experience in a fun, competitive setting. A big thank you to everyone who took part and congratulations especially to team 217 on their win.”

According to the most recent estimates from certifications body (ISC)2 , the worldwide shortage of cybersecurity professionals is currently just shy of three million, including 498,000 in North America. Trend Micro hosts nearly 20 CTFs each year around the world leading up to the main global event, all focusing on developing cybersecurity skills in young professionals to meet this vital need.

The CTF helps participants advance their skills in critically under-staffed areas, such as cybercrime analysis, targeted attacks, the Internet of Things (IoT), SCADA and open source intelligence (OSINT).

After successfully completing the online qualifying round in September, the top 10 teams from around the world faced off in Tokyo, Japan on December 15-16. Additionally, winners of regional CTF events in Egypt, Brazil and the Czech Republic earned a spot in the final competition.

Congratulations to this year’s winning teams, who are as follows:

• First place: 217
• Second place: p4
• Third place: PwnThyBytes
• Top individual contributor: Sin42 from PwnThyBytes

The winning team from the finals receives JPY1,000,000, which is about US $9,000, along with 15,000 Zero Day Initiative Rewards Program points per player. The second and third place teams receive JPY300,000 and JPY200,000, which is nearly $3,000 and $2,000 USD, respectively.

For more information on Trend Micro’s CTF, please visit: www.trendmicro.com/tmctf.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud workloads, networks, and endpoints. With more than 6,000 employees in 50 countries and the world’s most advanced global threat research and intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their connected world. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.