Top Cyber Talent Competes at Virginia Tech

June 23, 2018

3 Min Read

PRESS RELEASE

Blacksburg, VA, June 22, 2018 – Today, a select group of the nation’s top cybersecurity talent competed in the US Cyber Challenge (USCC) virtual “Capture the Flag” (CTF) competition as the culminating activity to their week-long camp program at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. The winners of the CTF competition were on Team Delta and included Lisa Price, Keith Swagler, Fabrizio D’Angelo and Rob Pescatore. Each of the winners were awarded a $1,000 educational scholarship from USCC for their achievement and a voucher for training from (ISC)2. The CTF competition was developed by Michigan-based company Merit.

The awards ceremony included remarks from Randy Marchany, Chief Information Security Officer of Virginia Tech; Scott Midkiff, VP for Information Technology and CIO of Virginia Tech; and Doug Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas.

In his Award Ceremony address, Doug Logan encouraged each of the camp participants to use their experience with U.S. Cyber Challenge as a jumping off point to further their career and be confident in their skill sets. There is a significant workforce gap nationwide in cybersecurity and each of these camp participants are qualified, and proved their qualifications today through their success in the competition, and are an important factor in reducing the vulnerabilities we find nationwide.

Over the course of the week, campers received in-depth classroom instruction from industry experts on topics including program analysis, memory forensics, penetration testing and packet crafting. Each of the campers qualified for the camp by achieving high scores in an online competition called Cyber Quests that took place in April. Over a thousand individuals competed in Cyber Quests across the country.

The Eastern Regional camp is supported in part through partnerships with Accenture Federal Services, Amazon Web Services, the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM), Center for Cyber Safety & Education, Center for Internet Security, CenturyLink, Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation, Cyber Ninjas, Defense Point Security LLC, the Department of Homeland Security, Duo, the Federal CIO Council, (ISC)2, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, 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

 

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About U.S. Cyber Challenge:

U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC) is a program supported by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate through a contract with the Center for Internet Security, a 501(c)3 organization, and has the mission to significantly reduce the shortage in the cyber workforce by serving as the premier program to identify, attract, recruit and place the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.  USCC's goal is to find 10,000 of America's best and brightest to fill the ranks of cybersecurity professionals where their skills can be of the greatest value to the nation.

Visit Us Online: www.uscyberchallenge.org

 

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