The Hacking Games launches Virtu-os, a community of technology companies committed to creating a generation of ethical hackers, with Sophos as the inaugural sponsor

Sophos backs major new media and entertainment brand which launched earlier this year to inspire millions of young people to join the fight against cybercrime

Emerging new media and entertainment brand The Hacking Games (‘THG’) today announced the launch of its corporate community Virtu-os, with Sophos as the inaugural sponsor. Sophos’ sponsorship of THG is the first in a series of planned Virtu-os partnerships with other leading cybersecurity and technology companies.

THG, launched earlier this year, is focused on creating a generation of ethical hackers to make the world safer. Cybercrime is projected to cost the global economy $24 trillion by 2027, and therefore it is instrumental that this Virtu-os community of industry leaders work collectively to raise awareness and nurture talent into the world of cybersecurity. There are currently four million unfilled jobs in cybersecurity worldwide, and this number is growing, creating a global labour deficit that is tipping the scale in favour of criminal hackers. According to industry research, 80% of New York City teens tried hacking before they were 16 years old, as a result of their own curiosity, highlighting the need to educate youths about the ethical and career benefits of choosing cybersecurity for their path forward.

THG aims to shine a light on this growing problem of youth participation in cybercrime and inspire young people to become ‘ethical hackers’ to join the fight against it. Alongside the media campaigns, THG’s prolific community of world-renowned cybersecurity specialists are participating as mentors for the next generation. “We are facing a social pandemic of kids being exposed to cybercrime and we’ve been blown away by the industry’s response to the issue The Hacking Games exists to solve,” says co-founder and CEO Fergus Hay. “Cybercrime is a trend that can create huge societal damage and could, unfortunately, destroy the lives of many young lives if they become influenced by and choose the wrong ‘digital direction.’ We are thrilled that Sophos has committed to sponsoring THG and joining our mission to create a generation of ethical hackers. Sophos is the first of many major players in the cybersecurity and technology industry to come onboard and seize this moment to potentially divert millions of young people to the cause of fighting cybercrime – not participating in it.”

Rob Harrison, senior vice president of product management at Sophos, said: “Sophos is passionate about encouraging new talent into the cybersecurity industry, and The Hacking Games provide a fantastic platform for young people to develop the interest, knowledge and skills needed to build a younger group of ethical hackers. It’s also important for today’s career starters to know that cybersecurity is a well-paid, fast-paced, and intriguing global industry that needs practitioners. All together we can build an even more resilient digital future.”

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About The Hacking Games
The Hacking Games (THG) is a global multi-media entertainment, training and recruitment enterprise committed to creating a generation of Ethical Hackers to make the world safer. THG will build, educate, and recruit the ethical hacking workforce of the future to reduce the labour deficit, and are working with FBI, CISA, Europol, and the NCA. With the cost of cybercrime forecasted to be $24trn in 2027, and 80% of New York City teens polled having tried hacking before they were 16 years old, we are facing a generational crisis with a global labour deficit that makes the world less safe every day. THG will inspire Gen Z (25% of the global workforce) to be Ethical Hackers and provide a career pathway into technology and cybersecurity. Over the next 24 months The Hacking Games is producing mass media and entertainment shows under the brand The Hacking Games including TV shows, feature films, kids’ animation shows, documentaries and continuous short form social content.

About Sophos
Sophos is a global leader and innovator of advanced security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, including Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and incident response services and a broad portfolio of endpoint, network, email, and cloud security technologies. As one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity providers, Sophos defends more than 600,000 organizations and more than 100 million users worldwide from active adversaries, ransomware, phishing, malware, and more. Sophos’ services and products connect through the Sophos Central management console and are powered by Sophos X-Ops, the company’s cross-domain threat intelligence unit. Sophos X-Ops intelligence optimizes the entire Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which includes a centralized data lake that leverages a rich set of open APIs available to customers, partners, developers, and other cybersecurity and information technology vendors. Sophos provides cybersecurity-as-a-service to organizations needing fully managed security solutions. Customers can also manage their cybersecurity directly with Sophos’ security operations platform or use a hybrid approach by supplementing their in-house teams with Sophos’ services, including threat hunting and remediation.