Imagine the following scenario. A massive winter storm, worse than any in recent memory, has wreaked havoc across Maryland. A state of emergency has been declared. While residents cope with the natural catastrophe, a transnational terrorist organization is attempting to exploit the situation. Through cyber-attacks aimed an sabotaging relief operations and aid distribution, the terrorists seek to sow confusion and disorder, and to undermine confidence in the federal and state governments.
It is this hypothetical crisis which contestants will grapple with during the 9th Mid-Atlantic College Cyber Defense Competition (MACCDC), to be held March 26-29 at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland. And Capitol students will be part of the action.
Capitol's team -- consisting of captain Austin H. RIchards, co-captain Annie Pope, and team members Shawn Bérubé, Andrew Durkin, Mark Evans, Vincent Hanyok, Keegan Moore, Zach Richard and Cameron Smith -- passed the qualifying round during the week of March 3rd.
"We can't wait to go," Richards said, "and we're practicing as hard as we can."
The 2014 team members represent three programs at Capitol: Information Assurance, Computer Engineering and Computer Science.They will be pooling their combined expertise in order to fend off a wide spectrum of network threats.
"The hardest thing in this competition is knowing what the competitors will throw at us, what the hackers will do to try and get into our systems, and how they will exploit us," Richards said. "There are so many different services that are on these systems, and we can't possibly study for all of them. We have to have really great teamwork in order to take these curveballs step by step in order to mitigate the hacks as best as we can."
Dr. Helen Barker, dean of the School of Business and Information Sciences,
"Once again, Capitol College has stepped up with a new team of students who are highly motivated to go even further than we have done in the past. They're an absolutely awesome group of young people, and they're very excited that they've made it through."
The experience, Barker said. offers students the chance to apply the knowledge they've acquired in their classes and labs, as well as vital critical thinking skills. It will also be a great addition to their resumes when they go on the job market, she said.
The MACCDC is part of the broader National College Cyber Defense Competition. Winners of the March event will go on to compete a national championship to be held on April 25th.
The regional-level contest is co-ordinated by National CyberWatch and iSight partners. According to the MACDCC website, the program is unique in that it focuses on the operational aspects of managing and protecting an existing network infrastructure.
Capitol College, based in Laurel, Maryland, is dedicated to education in engineering, computer science, information technology and business through practices of leadership and innovation. Founded in 1927, Capitol offers associate, bachelor’s and master's degrees, a Doctor of Science in Information Assurance, professional development training and certificates.
Academic programs are grounded in centers of excellence; these include the Space Operations Institute, the Critical Infrastructures and Cyber Protection Center, the Innovation and Leadership Institute, and the Center for Space Science Education and Public Outreach. For more information, contact Robert Herschbach, director of communications, at raherschbach@capitol-college.edu.