Field Set for 2019 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition Championship

SAN ANTONIO, April 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at The University of Texas at San Antonio today announced the 10 finalists for the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC) Championship. The NCCDC, presented by Raytheon, will host its 14th year in Orlando, Florida, April 23-25.

The three-day national championship features the top 10 teams from colleges and universities across the country testing their skills in defending against cyber-attacks. The National Champion will be awarded the Alamo Cup on April 25 at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida.

More than 230 colleges and universities participated in qualifying and regional NCCDC events, with the winners of each regional event advancing to the National Championship. The winners of the 10 regional competitions are:

• Baldwin Wallace University
• Dakota State University
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Stanford University
• University of Alaska Anchorage
• University of Central Florida
• University of Tulsa
• University of Virginia
• University of Washington
• Utah Valley University

"As the cyber threat grows and advanced technology emerges to protect against it, new training programs are needed to develop the skills needed to help preserve our way of life," said John DeSimone, vice president of Cybersecurity and Special Missions at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. "NCCDC is critical to establish the talent needed to fill the projected 3.5 million cyber positions estimated go by unfilled by 2021."

NCCDC is a unique competition that is focused on the operational aspect of managing and protecting an existing "commercial" network infrastructure. Collegiate competitors face challenges similar to real-world situations as they manage, protect and defend their infrastructure from live 'Red Teams' that pose a threat to their defense strategy.

"Collegiate Cyber Defense Competitions challenge these security-savvy students to develop the technical, leadership and teamwork skills they need to pursue careers in the information security and information technology fields," said Dwayne Williams, director of the NCCDC and associate director at the CIAS. "The students competing in these events are highly motivated, capable and heavily recruited by government, academia and industry. We're continually amazed at their skill-set and professional work ethic each year."

For more information about the NCCDC or National Champion, visit NCCDC.org or follow on Twitter @Nationalccdc, #NCCDC.

About the National CCDC:
Hosted by the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security at The University of Texas at San Antonio, the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) system provides institutions with an information assurance or computer security curriculum a controlled, competitive environment to assess their student's depth of understanding and operational competency in managing the challenges inherent in protecting a corporate network infrastructure and business information systems. For more information, visit NCCDC.org.

SOURCE Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security