Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition

Allows institutions of higher education offering information assurance or computer security curriculum to assess their students' depth of understanding and operational competency in managing the challenges inherent in protecting an enterprise network infrastructure and business information systems.
The competition features a controlled competitive environment that:

• Provides a meaningful mechanism for institutions to evaluate their programs.
• Gives students an opportunity to apply the theory and skills they have learned in their course work.
• Fostesr a spirit of teamwork, ethical behavior, and effective communication both within and across teams.
• Opens a dialog and awareness among participating institutions, students, and sponsoring organizations.

Lets participants have fun!

How the Competition Works

Unlike many cyber security competitions, this exercise concentrates on defense. The teams are not allowed to take the offensive. Instead, a professional red team will be performing attacks.

The competition will include five teams consisting of eight students each from numerous Minnesota and Wisconsin community/technical colleges. Each team will be given identical computer configurations at the start of the competition. Throughout the competition, the teams must ensure the systems supply the specified services, while under attack from the red team. In addition, the teams will have to satisfy periodic "injects" that simulate business activities IT staff must deal with in the real world.

Team package and competition rules will be available January 15, 2008.

The Winning Team

The winning team will be invited to participate in the Midwest Region Collegiate Cyber Defense Exercise hosted at Washtenau Community college in Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 21-22, 2008.

Team Requirements

Invited teams are required to meet the following qualifications:

• All members must be active students at the team school.
• The school should offer courses that teach the principles outlined in the CNSS standards.

The sponsoring school must be located in Minnesota or Wisconsin.

Your Involvement

Cyber-terrorism quickly reminds us that we live in a digital world - a virtual reality of hackers, worms, Trojan Horses, logic bombers and white collar criminals. Recognizing this fact the Center for Strategic Information Technology and Security (the Center) and its academic partners are sponsors of the 2007 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. Unlike traditional "hack and defend" or "capture the flag" contests, this competition simulates realistic corporate administration and security experiences - giving the competitors a chance to compare their education and training against their peers and the real world challenges that await them.

Please contact the Center at 612.659.7230 if you are interested in our sponsorship levels. More information about the Center and the 2008 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition is available at http://nationalccdc.org and http://ccdc.minnesota.edu

Sponsorship Levels

Sponsorship opportunities for this national championship event include:

• $1,500 - Logistics support (in addition to Inver Hills Community College staff)
• $1,200 - Team Polo Shirts (7 teams; 8 members each)
• $1,200 - Conference Dinner/Keynote Speaker
• $1,000 - Winning Team Travel Expenses for Regional Competition
• $750 - Awards Luncheon
• $600 - Each Luncheon (2 lunches)
• $500 - Support for Team Travel Costs
• $300 - Each Breakfast (3 continental breakfasts)