FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 14, 2011
The 6th annual CyberWatch Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (MA CCDC) came to a successful conclusion Saturday evening, March 12 with the University of Maryland College Park team winning top honors and a chance to compete in the National CCDC in San Antonio, TX, April 8-10, 2011. The other top spots went to James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (2nd Place) and Forsyth Technical Community College, Winston-Salem, NC (3rd place).
The event, held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Md., drew over 500 competitors, spectators and IT industry and government officials from the region. It was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security and several industry sponsors including Deloitte, Booz Allen Hamilton, Northrop Grumman and Boeing at the Platinum level. Gold level sponsors were CSC, NetApp, Neustar, SAIC and Tenable Network Security; CTI was a Silver sponsor. Highlights from the event include:
:: The largest Red Team of hackers assembled (over 25) were in top form, launching relentless attacks against the 8 college teams that defended their networks
:: An innovative portable wireless badge created by Larry Pesce (NWN Corporation and PaulDotCom Enterprises) for participants which simulated data capture and vulnerabilities in the “Smart Grid” framework vital to developing priorities of our nation
:: The first successfully documented case of a Red Team “arrest” for physically disrupting a Blue Team’s system caught red handed through a mobile phone
:: Major cyber security presentations by luminaries such as Dr. Ernest McDuffie of NIST, Allan Paller of SANS and Wende Peters of JHU APL
:: Continuous web streaming of the event over the CyberWatch Mid-Atlantic CCDC portal of the competition, as well as podcasting through Paul Asadoorian’s podcast and Ajay Gupta’s Internet radio broadcasts on technologytodayradio.com.
:: More than 25 educational presentations on cyber security technology and careers in cyber security
:: The first ever K-12 parallel track for middle school and high school students, parents and educators drawing more than 200 participants from the region
:: A visit to the Northrop Grumman Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) to introduce the realities of today’s cyber defense capabilities in the field to the students
At the concluding ceremony, CyberWatch Mid-Atlantic CCDC director Casey W. O’Brien announced that the 7th CyberWatch Mid-Atlantic CCDC will be held once again at the JHU APL location March 15-17, 2012. Presentations, details on participating teams, and other information from the 2011 CCDC are here.
For press details contact: Dr. Costis Toregas, and/or Geoff Brown, .
