US Cyber Challenge Kicks Off 2018 Camp Season at Virginia Tech

PRESS RELEASE

Blacksburg, VA, June 11, 2018 – U.S. Cyber Challenge kicks off its 2018 boot camp season next week at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia for the Eastern Regional Cyber Camp. Camp participants qualified for the program based on their scores from the Cyber Quest competition (www.CyberQuests.org) in April and will spend the week receiving intensive instruction by some of the nation’s leading cybersecurity experts. The camp begins next Monday, June 18^th and ends Friday, June 22^nd with a Capture-the-Flag (CTF) competition and Award Ceremony recognizing all camp participants and specifically the winners of the CTF competition. Friday’s competition will test both individual performance and team performance, and the winners will receive scholarships from (ISC)² at the Award Ceremony immediately following the CTF.

“Each year, through our online competition Cyber Quests, USCC identifies the nation’s leading talent in cybersecurity,” stated National Director Karen S. Evans. “Our goal is to help these talented individuals strengthen their skill sets in information security and begin a path toward their dream career and securing our nation’s government and economy.”

Next week’s intensive classwork programming will include the following classes: Cybersecurity Program Analysis, Windows Memory Forensics, WebAppPenTest 2018, and Packet Crafting with Scapy. On Wednesday, June 20^th, the camp will host an Executive Roundtable luncheon. This luncheon will foster conversation between seasoned professionals from various organizations and camp participants about the needs our country has today for talented individuals in cybersecurity and the hurdles employers face in both acquiring talent and retaining the talent. The Executive Roundtable is open to the media. For more information about the Eastern Regional camp, visit the webpage athttps://security.vt.edu/cyber_challenge.html.

The Eastern Regional camp is supported in part through partnerships with Amazon Web Services, the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM), Adaptive Cyber, Center for Cyber Safety & Education, Center for Internet Security, CenturyLink, Cyber Ninjas, Defense Point Security LLC, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal CIO Council, (ISC)², Monster Government Solutions, NIC, SANS Institute, and Sherman Consulting. Local sponsorship includes Virginia Tech’s Division of Information Technology.

The 2018 Cyber Summer Camp Series features four week-long camps located in Delaware, Illinois, Nevada and Virginia. In line with the mission of USCC’s parent organization, the Center for Internet Security (www.CISecurity.org), the camps are an integral part in the mission to identify and develop cybersecurity talent in order to reduce the nation’s cybersecurity workforce gap and safeguard private and public organizations from cyber threats. Participants in USCC programming are encouraged to continue developing their skills and network with like-minded individuals by becoming active members in CyberCompEx.org, an online social community specifically for cybersecurity enthusiasts. 

For more information about the Cyber Camp program and each of the specific camps, visit U.S. Cyber Challenge online at www.uscyberchallenge.org