Cyber Tigers Attend the US CyberForce Competition in New Mexico

SPC’s Cyber Tigers participated in the 2019 CyberForce Competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in November.  The event was held at Sandia Laboratories in New Mexico, one of 10 National Laboratories who hosted this event. 105 college and university teams from across the nation participated to compete against each other and defend a simulated cyber-physical infrastructure from professionally executed cyberattacks. The competition offered students an opportunity and experience to prepare them for a real environment.

The CyberForce Competition is unique in that it asks participants to defend a realistic cyber-physical infrastructure, which included simulated industrial control system components, real-world anomalies and constraints and interaction with energy systems. The 2019 scenarios presented Cyber Tigers with challenges in penetrating systems in a matter of minutes and hours, a task that would normally take them a few days, month or weeks. The competition was described as high level and high stress, very similar to real-world experiences.

In preparation for the event, students had to meet several times to get systems up and secure before the event. Six of SPC’s Cyber Tigers participated during the competition including Miana Tesalona, Dione DeLeon Spiller, Jacobo Salas, Tevin Sewer, Corey Stroup and Eduardo Posadas. This was the first time the Business Information Solutions Department -- Information Technology Cybersecurity Specialist Program participated in a live event like this. For many students, it was the first time they took a plane trip or traveled outside of Texas.

To learn more about the Business Information Solutions Department -- Information Technology Cybersecurity Specialist Program, click here.