This past weekend, members of Capitol’s Cyber team competed in the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition’s (CCDC) Regional Finals at The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Md. Eight teams from the Mid-Atlantic region participated in the event.
During the competition, Capitol students were tasked with defending their team’s servers from 25 hackers trying to infiltrate each team’s networks. During the challenging competition the students were able to simulate real-world scenarios that are commonly seen in the workplace, and also learn from industry experts.
“The corporate connections and training exercises proved to be invaluable for our career path and continued learning in the field of information assurance,” sophomore Marc Fruchtbaum, Cyber Battle Lab manager, said. “Not only were our cyber security skills put to the ultimate test, but we were also given the opportunity to meet with industry professionals, some of whom are interested in employing members of the team.”
Prior to the regional finals, the Cyber team spent months preparing and researching various tactics and defenses used to shield real-time network attacks. This was the sixth annual Mid-Atlantic CCDC, and the first time that Capitol entered the competition.
The Capitol team made it to the regional finals after winning its match in the qualifying round. Originally, 22 teams competed in the qualifying round, and by besting its two competitors, the Capitol team advanced past the opening round. While Capitol did not take home the first place prize, the students gained a wealth of experience and came away with praise from the judges. The final results will be sent to participants in the next several weeks.
“We were commended by our team judges for having above average communication skills, the ability to delegate roles to our team and our general cheerful attitude during the competition,” Fruchtbaum said.
Capitol students prepared for the event in the school’s Cyber Battle Lab (CBL), where students detect, analyze and defeat simulated hacker attacks. The CBL is a great resource for students studying information assurance at Capitol.
In addition to a master’s and doctorate, Capitol offers a bachelor’s degree in information assurance, which prepares students for careers in cyber defense and teaches them the tactics and strategies used in the workplace.
Capitol College is a DHS/NSA nationally designated Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. The institution offers a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in information assurance.
Representing Capitol in the CCDC were students Andrew Dorsey, Alex Eakle, Danielle Freebourne, Marc Fruchtbaum, Jeremy Hedges, Reza Nadjmabadi, Tuan Pho and Sam Plant.
Top Photo: courtesy of Edward Whitman
Bottom Photo: The Capitol sign from CCDC signed by the 25 red hat hackers