The University of Virginia’s cybersecurity team topped 234 schools from around the nation to win the 2018 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC).
The challenge – underwritten by Raytheon, a technology and innovation firm specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions – involved teams successfully protecting a fictional biotech firm’s network against an onslaught of persistent cyber attacks from top security experts posing as hackers.
The competing teams worked to secure a fictional biotech firm Volitech, which specializes in vaccine research, materials research, pharmaceuticals, and biomechanical organ development.
“NCCDC’s systematic, professional approach to this competition and the use of real-world business scenarios will contribute to filling the projected 1.8 million cyber job vacancies by 2022,” John DeSimone, vice president of Cybersecurity and Special Missions at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services, said. “We want to congratulate University of Virginia and encourage them to continue their pursuit of cybersecurity excellence through internships and throughout their careers post-graduation.”
NCCDC challenges college students to operate and manage a network infrastructure similar to that of networks found in the commercial sector and scores them based on their ability to minimize system infiltration, keep critical services in operation and prevent exfiltration of sensitive data.
Raytheon officials said the firm would bring the winning team to Washington, D.C., this summer to tour some of the nation’s top research and national cybersecurity sites.