With America’s cyber-defenses still in need of boosting, the US government has launched the US Cyber Challenge competition and talent search to find and develop 10,000 young Americans who can help the nation regain the lead in defending the Internet against attack.

The program includes the following three competitions, which are open to high school students and, in some cases, college and post-graduate students. Students can compete as individuals or in teams.

CyberPatriot, sponsored by the Air Force, is a cyberdefense competition that tests the ability of the students to defend a simulated corporate network from external hostile attacks.

DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge, sponsored by the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, focuses on cyber investigation and forensics.

NetWars, sponsored by the Sans Institute, which trains security professionals, is a competition in network vulnerability discovery and exploitation.

Here are some of the benefits for students who compete (drawn from the program’s description):

"Promising candidates will be recognized and their local papers will be told of their success. In addition, they will be invited to attend regional "cyber camps" to be held at local colleges, where they will develop their skills more fully and participate in additional competitions. (The cyber camps are expected to begin in 2010 and may not be available in all parts of the country.)

Candidates who rise to the top in these regional programs will be invited to participate in live national challenges like those coordinated by the University of Texas at San Antonio and NYU Polytechnic. Greatly promising candidates from these programs will have a real leg up in competitions for scholarships to study advanced cyber security programs at professional development programs like those run by the SANS Institute or at colleges and graduate programs at participating schools.

Finally, the best of the candidates will be introduced to key federal agencies and corporations where the most advanced cyber security work is being done. Although no promises of employment can be made, these organizations are facing extreme shortages of security experts with extraordinary, hands-on technical skills, and these organizations are assisting in the design and operation of the US Cyber Challenge because they look forward to finding additional candidates for their most challenging assignments."

For more cybersecurity news, extensive free advice on securing your corner of cyberspace, and our latest Ratings of security software (available to subscribers) , see our Online Security Guide.—Jeff Fox

The e-book reader market could get more crowded still next year, when a Samsung e-book reader that goes on sale this week in Korea may hit the US market.

As widely reported at sites including CNET, the Samsung SNE-50K has a 5-inch touch screen—making it smaller than the 6-inch screens found on the Kindle 2 and Sony Readers, including the 700C model. It reportedly weighs 6.5 ounces, less than any of those devices, and will sell in Korea for the equivalent of $270, about the same as the Kindle 2 and Sony Reader 505.

With its white plastic case, the device resembles Amazon’s Kindle 2. But the device reportedly lacks the Kindle’s wireless connectivity. It does, however, supposedly boast handwriting recognition to convert memos to typewritten text—a plus no other e-book reader now offers.

It will be next year, at the earliest, before a North American version of the SNE-50K might makes it debut —possibly at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, where Samsung has showed early versions of its e-book readers in the past.

There’s also the Plastic Logic e-book reader, expected to hit the market early in 2010. Announcements of other new or upgraded e-book readers are expected soon, in what’s turning into a busy summer for the digital book devices. —Paul Reynolds.

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