ORLANDO, Fla., April 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- University of
Virginia prevailed over nine other
finalist teams to win the 2018 National Collegiate Cyber Defense
Competition. The championship was held in Orlando, Florida, from April 13-15 with the top 10 college and
university teams from across the nation. University of Virginia earned the national title by
successfully protecting a fictional biotech firm's network against
an onslaught of persistent cyber attacks from top security experts
posing as hackers.
With more than 230 colleges and universities competing to test
their cybersecurity prowess, the ten finalists advanced to the
national round after competing in multiple stages before advancing
to a single round elimination at regional competitions nationwide.
NCCDC was the first to test cyber defense skills in a collegiate
competition modeled after real-world attack scenarios, and aims to
encourage more students to pursue cybersecurity careers.
"NCCDC's systematic, professional approach to this competition
and the use of real-world business scenarios will contribute
to filling the projected 1.8 million cyber job vacancies by 2022,""
said John DeSimone, vice president
of Cybersecurity and Special Missions at Raytheon Intelligence,
Information and Services. "We want to congratulate University of Virginia and encourage them to
continue their pursuit of cybersecurity excellence through
internships and throughout their careers post-graduation."
NCCDC challenges college students to operate and manage a
network infrastructure similar to that of networks found in the
commercial sector and scores them based on their ability to
minimize system infiltration, keep critical services in operation,
and prevent exfiltration of sensitive data. In this year's National
Championship, the competing teams worked to secure a fictional
biotech firm "Volitech," which specializes in vaccine research,
materials research, pharmaceuticals, and biomechanical organ
development.
"The NCCDC program brings academia, government and industry
together in a unique way," said Dwayne
Williams, director of the NCCDC. "Everyone recognizes we
need to find and train more cyber professionals and these
competitions are critical in helping meet that need."
At the end of the competition, University
of Virginia earned the highest score and took home the
coveted NCCDC Alamo Cup. Raytheon will bring the winning team
to Washington, D.C., this summer to tour some of the
nation's top research and national cybersecurity sites.
In addition to University of
Virginia's top finish, University of
Central Florida placed second, and Dakota State University placed third. The 10
schools that competed at the championship include:
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, At
Large Regional Winner
- University of Virginia,
Mid-Atlantic Regional Winner
- Indiana Tech, Mid-West Regional
Winner
- Dakota State, North Central
Regional Winner
- University of Buffalo,
Northeast Regional Winner
- University of Washington Seattle,
Pacific Rim Regional Winner
- Utah Valley University, Rocky Mountain Regional Winner
- University of Central Florida,
Southeast Regional Winner
- Baylor University, Southwest
Regional Winner
- California State University
Northridge, Western Regional Winner
Sponsors of NCCDC include government agencies, colleges and
commercial companies.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with
2017 sales of $25 billion and 64,000
employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in
defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a
history of innovation spanning 96 years, Raytheon provides
state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5ITM
products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for
customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered
in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow
us on Twitter.
Media Contacts
Raytheon
Jennifer M
Griffith
+1 571.250.2813
iispr@raytheon.com
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