Cyber Quest Competition
Cyber Quest Competition is a great opportunity to compete for both recognition and scholarships to intense summer workshops. The competition is part of the US Cyber Challenge, a program funded by DHS in partnership with the Center for Internet Security, SANS, DoD, Microsoft, Lockheed and several other organizations. The program is designed to find and support talented young Americans who can help the nation meet the critical need for skilled cyber security operators, assessors, and hunters.
The main web site at uscc.cyberquests.org has a lot of good information and a fact sheet is attached. Here is a quick look:
- Competition registration period: now through April 30.
- Competition itself: you may compete any time between April 18 and May 1. You have 24 hours from the time you start to complete their work.
- The competition: Participants will be provided with a network packet capture file that you must analyze to identify and interpret various types of network traffic including HTTP, SMB/CIFS, DNS, ARP, and ICMP. Participants will have to answer questions about the network itself, as well as the activities of the users on the network. The quiz is designed for an intermediate skill level.
- Prizes: Recognition by state and national leaders, scholarships to attend cyber camps this summer where top practitioners will share the most current techniques for cyber defense and you get to practice with the new tools and techniques in great live competitions.
The cyber camps, that were tested last summer in three states, and were a great success—here’s a National Public Radio story about one of them: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129236426
Each one brings together four of the best teachers on the SANS faculty – the same people who train the most advanced military and intelligence practitioners – for immersion training and daily competitions. Last year’s participants were overwhelming complimentary in the value they got and how it and the recognition gave their career preparation a real turbo charge.