ISU NIATEC program hosting cyber security competition, 10 teams competing

The NIATEC Invitational Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition will last approximately 10 hours, with teams arriving the evening of Friday, Nov. 11, and the official competition beginning Saturday, Nov. 12, at 8 a.m.

“The ISU NIATEC students have put together an impressive competition,” Advisor Ryan Lind said. “This event helps developing security experts gain experience implementing security principles in a dynamic environment. We’re pleased at the level of interest in the competition and the number of schools participating.”

Participating teams include Brigham Young University, Southern Utah University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Weber State University, University of Idaho and the LDS Business College.

The cyber defense competition will put teams in the role of system administrators attempting to defend their networks from an aggressive red team, which seeks to cripple the availability of their systems. At the same time, the teams will be responsible for developing and implementing security policy and controls to secure both the digital and technical environments.

NIATEC students have developed a dynamic virtual infrastructure and populated it within a creative scenario environment to produce a holistic security experience.  Funding for this year’s competition was provided exclusively by ISU Credit Union, with special scholarship prizes for competitors being provided by the National Security Agency.