The School of Information Studies at Syracuse University was selected to host the Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition from March 20–22.

Cybersecurity is an issue that has come to the forefront of public discourse in recent months, and iSchool and NECCDC officials are doing what they can to combat it.

“People have heard the news about the recent Sony hack, but of course this is just the tip of the iceberg, and we need a lot more professionals who work in the cybersecurity area,” said Jeffrey Stanton, interim dean of the iSchool. “Fortunately, SU has several majors and degree programs where students can specialize in cybersecurity.”

This is SU’s third year of participating in the competition, having sent teams to the University of Maine in March 2013 and the University of New Hampshire in 2014.

Ten qualifying schools from around the region will be sending their teams to compete at SU in an event that has become known as a proving ground for tech students, as well as a talent mine for industry professionals. More than 150 people will be participating in the event.

“As a competitor it was a very rewarding experience,” Brian Garber, a former participant and current organizer of the competition, said.

The competition’s format is that of intense struggles between the “blue teams,” each consisting of 10 students, and the “red teams,” consisting of volunteer groups of professional hackers. The student teams are given a briefing and must secure and defend a cyber-network against repeated attacks from the hacker groups. The winners, determined by judges, or “white teams,” go on to compete nationally.

Meanwhile, groups of homegrown volunteer technicians, known as “black teams,” are responsible for setting up separate servers for the event.

“It’s basically a matter of last man standing in the end,” Bahram Attaie, an assistant professor of practice at the iSchool who has led SU’s involvement with NECCDC since the beginning, said.

Preparation for the competition is ongoing and considerable. Garber said the team of iSchool students representing SU frequently runs practice scenarios to expand their skills and develop responses to different challenges.

Since coming to SU five years ago, Attaie has been involved with the Center for Convergence and Emerging Network Technologies, an iSchool lab initiative focused on giving students as much hands-on experience as possible. It was through the search for CCENT activity opportunities that Attaie was first introduced to the competition and inspired to assemble SU’s first ever NECCDC team in the summer of 2012. Now, the iSchool is host to the regional competition itself.

A good chunk of the work in hosting is bringing in sponsors, Attaie said.

Sponsors are offered packages by the competition that allow them to fill seats on the judges’ and hackers’ teams as they please, as well as a large say in how the servers for the contest are constructed.

Sponsors currently involved with the event include Dell, Akamai, Northwestern Mutual, Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Rob Ford CPA, Susquehanna International Group and Raytheon.

These sponsor privileges underscore a characteristic of the competition: it is largely a networking opportunity. As recruiting agents from companies such as Dell, Raytheon and Akamai stalk the sidelines, opportunities are available everywhere.

“In terms of recruiting,” Garber said, “this is the place to get top-notch cybersecurity students.”

“A lot of the students on these teams get jobs through this,” Attaie added. “There’s a huge shortage and demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in the workforce right now.”

Published on January 14, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Thomas: tjbeckle@syr.edu