Sven Alskog
News Editor
On Feb. 22, the Idaho State University College of Business played host to its first National Information Assurance and Training Education Center (NIATEC) Invitational Cyber Defense Competition.
Sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA), six teams from the surrounding area, ranging from high school to collegiate graduate students, took part in the event. The NSA contributed $7,000 to distribute in the form of scholarships for those placing in the top three of the competition.
Brigham Young University-Provo took home the top honors.
Lots of work went in to making the competition one that those involved with would remember.
“We put in countless hours,” said Josh Sommers, the project manager and a graduate student at ISU pursuing his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with an emphasis in Information Assurance. “We had a 12-person team, some stayed until 11 p.m. some nights trying to wrap things up.”
From the feedback that ISU has received, the event was a success.
“It was our first competition that we have ever thrown,” said Sommers. “Everyone seemed to like it and learn a lot.”
NIATEC is a program open to all students, with the goal being to help teach and inform people of the ever-growing importance of cyber defense.
In the ISU program, a large amount of time is spent on internal projects to help prepare those involved for a future in the job market. These are typically student-led projects.
Raising awareness in the community about the topic of cyber defense is of high importance to those involved with ISU NIATEC.
“We have distributed flyers around campus and public schools around the area to educate,” said Sommers. “Everyone is on the Internet now. We’re trying to do our part in this area to inform the community.”
Being involved in NIATEC is something that pays off for students hoping to have a clear path into a job following college.
“It is a scholarship-for-service program for MBA students,” said Sommers. “They pay for all school expenses on top of a monthly stipend in return for working for the government for two years.”
The opportunity to get a foot in the door at a number of different government entities is an appealing one for those involved.
“There are too many good avenues to talk about,” said Sommers. “When I joined the MBA program, I wanted to be in the FBI. Last week I actually interviewed with them. This is a program that helps you become the professional that the government seeks.”
Another opportunity lies ahead for NIATEC at ISU.
The Pacific Rim Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, held on March 22 and23 at Highline Community College in Seattle, Wash., is designed by the ISU NIATEC program, according to Sommers. Two- and four-year colleges and universities from Washington, Idaho and Oregon will be taking part in the competition.
ISU has also developed an in-house scoring system engine that is used all over the country, something that has given it a strong national reputation.
“We’ve developed the scoring engine that is being used at all these competitions,” said Sommers. “This scoring system places people based on business injects, uptime on equipment, and if they were exploited by hackers.”
NIATEC at ISU hopes to host a competition of its own again next year following the success of its first go-around.
