Cybersecurity isn’t simply headline news nowadays; it’s making its way into the University of Colorado’s academics, across all majors.
CU students gathered online, based out of anywhere they desired, on Friday and Saturday for CU’s first cyberBUFFS Hackathon.
Circadence Corporation, a Boulder-based leader in cybersecurity training, partnered with MD5, a Department of Defense national security technology program, and the CU College of Engineering and Applied Science played host in bringing the hackathon to campus. Students of all academic backgrounds and skill levels were free to join in the two days of cybersecurity training and competitions.
“The point is to bring awareness and engagement to cybersecurity, which has become such an important part of our lives,” said Brad Wolfenden, the director of educational partnerships at Circadence. “You’ll see 85 percent of CEOs in the future having professional training in cybersecurity.”
The students interacted on an online gaming platform called Project Ares, hosted by Circadence, racking up points for a multitude of prizes as they went through different cybersecurity missions.
“I came to test my skills in cybersecurity, which is the field I’m working toward for my future career,” said Mark Wilmes, a third-year computer science major. “This is like a virtual playground to practice in.”
The platform is made up of three training sections — games, battle rooms and missions — creating an interactive, almost too-real-for-comfort world to build upon concepts at all skill levels.
The mini-games segmentprovided users a softer introduction to the skills needed to continue, opening an entryway to the world of cybersafety.
“The difference between the missions and the battle rooms is that missions are designed to be more end-to-end problem solving, whereas the battle rooms allow you to pick and choose what you want to experience — whether it be firewalls, forensics, et cetera,” Wolfenden said.
Grant Novota, a sophomore at CU, didn’t have any cybersafety experience before coming to the hackathon. “I came to learn something new and take something away about cybersecurity,” he said, looking over the commands on his screen with his neighbor.
The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has developed different frameworks knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) in cybertraining that the Ares’ “battle rooms” incorporate.
Both private parties and governmental organizations, such as the Department of Defense, use the program to train in cybersecurity.
The event culminated in a final tournament, lasting for about eight hours, in which participants went head-on to demonstrate their newfound — or refined — skillsets for a grand prize of a $500 scholarship from Circadence.
“The cybersecurity element is very interesting as there’s so much overlap with aerospace systems — aircrafts, drones, spacecraft — and the security challenges of keeping those systems secure,” said Scott Palo, a CU professor of aerospace engineering.
“We’re looking at, in our program, how to help train aerospace engineers to be aware of cybersecurity issues as they’re designing the next generation of aerospace systems.”
