UMaine to host, compete in regional cybersecurity contest
The University of Maine will compete in and host the 2016 Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NECCDC) March 11–13 on the Orono campus.
The UMaine Cyber Defense Team is one of 10 groups from around the region scheduled to take part in the competition. The team earned its spot in the contest after competing in a preliminary contest that was held in January.
According to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, the contest simulates security operations for a small company. Teams must quickly familiarize themselves with network systems and software before beginning to defend against attacks while also providing customer service to users.
This year marks UMaine’s third time hosting the event.
Last year, the UMaine Cyber Defense Team was one of 10 colleges to compete in the regional contest that was hosted by Syracuse and the School of Information Studies (iSchool).
Throughout the weekend, UMaine also will host the 2016 NECCDC Symposium with presentations by the participating teams and vendors. The focus will be on job and internship opportunities in cybersecurity, as well as preparing teams for cybersecurity competitions.
Sponsors for the event include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Air Force, Akamai, HP (Hewlett-Packard), Cisco, U.S. National Security Agency, Amazon Web Services and IIS Technology. A complete list of sponsors is online.
The award luncheon on Sunday will feature remarks by retired Adm. William Leigher, director of Raytheon’s Government Cyber Solutions. Joshua Abraham, vice president of professional services at Praetorian, will deliver the keynote presentation, “Running the Security Marathon.”
UMaine Cyber Defense Team members participating in the contest are John Woodill (captain) of Cranbury, New Jersey; Ben Grooms of Madison, Maine; Lucas Ashbaugh of South Portland, Maine; Avery Dunn of Dayton, Maine; Greg Antonellis of Harwich, Massachusetts; Mitch Vezina of Springvale, Maine; Ted Farnsworth of Cape Elizabeth, Maine; and Dayton Arey of Milbridge, Maine. Alternates are Matt Loewen of Farmington, Maine and Alina Ramazanova of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. George Markowsky, professor of computer science at UMaine, is the team’s faculty adviser.
More information about the competition, including a schedule, is online.