Raytheon and UTSA host National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition April 25-27

By Kris Rodriguez
Public Affairs Specialist

(April 18, 2014) -- The UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAAS) today announced the 10 finalists for the Raytheon National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC) Championship. The NCCDC, presented by Raytheon, returns to San Antonio for the ninth consecutive year.

The three-day national championship kicks off April 25 at the Riverwalk Marriott Hotel and features the top 10 teams from universities across the country applying their skills in defending against cyber attacks. The national champion will be awarded with the Alamo Cup on April 27.

The NCCDC consists of qualifying and regional events with the winners of each regional event advancing to the National Championship. The winners of the 10 regional CCDC events are:

• At-Large Regional: University of Alaska, Fairbanks
• Mid-Atlantic Regional: Towson University
• Midwest Regional: Northern Kentucky University
• Northeast Regional: Rochester Institute of Technology
• North Central Regional: Dakota State University
• Pacific Rim Regional: Western Washington University
• Rocky Mountain Regional: United States Air Force Academy
• Southeast Regional: University of Central Florida
• Southwest Regional: Southern Methodist University
• Western Regional: University of California, Berkley

"The students that compete in the Raytheon National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition represent the best of the best from around the country at defending against sophisticated cyber attacks," said Lynn Dugle, president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. "The competition draws from the top schools, the leading companies from every sector and the government agencies tasked with protecting our nation's most critical networks to ensure these students get the most realistic experience possible."

Modeled from real scenarios and obstacles, the NCCDC is the largest collegiate cyber defense competition program in the world and the first to specifically focus on the operational aspect of managing and protecting an existing commercial network infrastructure.

For institutions with an information assurance or computer security curriculum, NCCDC provides a controlled, competitive environment to assess their students' depth of understanding and operational competency in managing the challenges inherent in protecting a corporate network infrastructure and business information systems. It also provides the best and brightest an opportunity to shine on a national stage and connect with the top cyber-security firms in the country.

"CCDC competitions are inherit-and-defend events," said Dwayne Williams, director of the NCCDC. "Teams are given identical small-business networks to secure, maintain and defend. They must respond to business tasks while fending off attacks from live Red Teams that simulate the real-world threats any Internet-connected business faces. We've seen tremendous growth in the competition over the last nine years, thanks to the hard work of all our competition directors, volunteers, coaches, mentors and sponsors. We're delighted to have Raytheon join us as a presenting sponsor this year. With their support and global reach, the CCDC program will continue to expand and get better each year."

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About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2013 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 92 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing, effects, and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as cyber security and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. Learn more at the  Raytheon website or on Twitter @Raytheon.