TEEN computer-whizzes turned their hands to criminal investigation to hunt down tank track hackers.

Many in the 30-strong group were too young to drive, buy booze or knives.

But some of the country’s top cyber crime investigators confessed they were impressed by the youngsters’ analytical skills and teamwork as they tackled a mock-National Crime Agency investigation.

Organised by non-profit Cyber Security Challenge UK, the semi-final event saw talented computer scientists take over a tank hall at the Shrivenham Defence College. Those who impressed the judges will be put forward for the grand final in Canary Wharf later in the year, competing for prizes ranging from fully-funded masters degrees to tickets to a cyber security conference in California.

Teams were set a challenge by the National Crime Agency: find out who was blackmailing a Ministry of Defence contractor for £17m. The firm had won a new contract to manufacture parts for Challenger II tank tracks. But when the company was hit by IT hackers, the company was told to pay up £17m or expect their data to be published.

Assessors tracked the teams performances as they gathered clues and raided the hackers’ bedrooms to collect forensic evidence.

Ben Abrahamson, 14, from Leicestershire, said: “I’ve always been interested in cyber security, but with the forensics it takes those skills and adds an element of investigation which I’ve also enjoyed.” The whipsmart teen said he was interested in pursuing a career in the public sector, potentially catching criminals with the NCA.

Frenchman Stephane Ciolino, 37, hoped to move into cyber security: “I wanted to find out a bit more.”

Sophie, 16, from Sheffield, enjoyed the puzzle-solving aspect to the challenges: “I’d never really thought about this as a career before, but it’s definitely a possibility.”

Craig Jones of the National Crime Agency was impressed by the work on display: “They’ve done really well to get to this phase.” Asked why people should join the NCA, which fights serious organised crime, rather than head to the City of London for huge salaries, Mr Jones said: “How many people go out there and try to trap the cyber criminals?”

Colin Lobley, chief executive of Cyber Security Challenge UK, said he hoped the event would inspire people to take up careers in IT security: “This is all about raising the awareness and profile of cyber security.”

The country is short of around 350,000 IT security staff, he said: “The demand is there because there are so many incidents.”

While the competition events were aimed at those already interested in computing and cyber security, Mr Lobley said he hoped to inspire more people to think about keeping themselves safe online. Around one in five cyber security breaches were caused by human error, like people opening dodgy email attachments, he added: “If we reduce that 80 per cent of human-cause incidents to 30 per cent, then the demand on and need for cyber security will reduce.”