ABOUT

CyberWatch Center

Since 2006, the and White Wolf Security (recently purchased by iSIGHT Partners) have coordinated and run the Mid-Atlantic Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC). During this time, the Mid-Atlantic Regional CCDC has been funded by CyberWatch, an Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Center, that is funded by the National Science Foundation and located at Prince George’s Community College. CyberWatch functions as a consortium of higher education institutions, businesses, and government agencies whose mission is to improve the quantity and quality of the nation’s information assurance (IA) workforce. CyberWatch collaborates to share best practices, methodologies, curricula, and course modules and materials. In addition, CyberWatch provides faculty training and support to schools who want to develop an IA curriculum. CyberWatch also sponsors two student competitions in addition to the Mid-Atlantic Regional CCDC: the , in conjunction with the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, and the Security Awareness Poster and Video Contest, in conjunction with EDUCAUSE.

Background

While similar to other cyber defense competitions in many aspects, the CyberWatch Mid-Atlantic Regional CCDC, as part of the National CCDC, is unique in that it focuses on the operational aspects of managing and protecting an existing network infrastructure. The teams are physically co-located in the same building. Each team is given physically identical computer configurations at the start of the competition. Throughout the competition, the teams have to ensure the systems supply the specified services while under attack from a volunteer Red Team. In addition, the teams have to satisfy periodic “injects” that simulate business activities IT staff must deal with in the real world.

Mid-Atlantic CCDC

Event Objectives

  • Build a meaningful mechanism by which institutions of higher education may evaluate their programs;
  • Provide an educational venue in which students are able to apply the theory and skills they have learned in their course work;
  • Foster a spirit of teamwork, ethical behavior, and effective communication both within and across teams; and
  • Open a dialog and awareness among participating institutions and students

History

The CCDC provides hands-on application of information assurance skills to enhance students’ understanding of both theory and practice. The CCDC fulfills the same role as a capstone project in a traditional engineering program (i.e., projects that allow students to synthesize and integrate knowledge acquired through course work and other learning experiences into a project usually conducted in a workplace). The CCDC combines legal, ethical, forensics, and technical components while emphasizing a team approach. Such experiential education increases the knowledge and expertise of future professionals who may be in a position to contribute to the secure design and operation of critical information and its supporting infrastructure” (from Exploring a National Cyber Security Exercise for Colleges and Universities, Lance J. Hoffman and Daniel Ragsdale, 2004).

Hosted By

  • Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (JHU APL)
  • CyberWatch Center
  • National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Prince George's Community College (PGCC)