Sixteen UCF students are headed to Microsoft headquarters this weekend to go head-to-head with their counterparts from across the country in a competition to find the best cyber-warriors.
The students from the Collegiate Cyber Defense Club @ UCF will participate in 麻豆精品 S淏uild the Shield, 麻豆精品 S� a national-level competition organized and hosted by Microsoft on its campus in Redmond, Wash.
Microsoft is paying the travel expenses for the UCF teams, flying all 16 students to Washington on Friday. The event is Saturday, and they 麻豆精品 S檒l fly back to Orlando on Sunday.
Microsoft selected 50 teams of competitors for 麻豆精品 S淏uild-the-Shield 麻豆精品 S� by putting applicants through a qualifying round. The University of Central Florida fared so well in the qualifier that all four UCF teams, each with four students, were tapped for the competition.
麻豆精品 S淭here are only 50 teams that will be competing nationwide, so to have four is a pretty big achievement, 麻豆精品 S� said Thomas Nedorost, the club 麻豆精品 S檚 faculty advisor.
Since the club was formed in 2012, it has shot to the forefront of cyber-defense competitions. Last year, the club 麻豆精品 S檚 eight-member team won the Raytheon National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, earning a trip to the White House to meet Vice President Joe Biden.
And on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the UCF students were competing against teams from seven other universities in the Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, one of 10 regional showdowns that leads to the national competition.
Nedorost said the group competed in 21 events during the 2014 fall and spring semesters, and is on track to participate in as many as 25 this year.
The students competing Saturday are: Carlos Beltran, Austin Brogle, Conner Brooks, Kevin DiClemente, Mark Ignacio, Alexander Lynch, Cody McMahon, Ditmar Wendt, Kevin Colley, Alexander Davis, Kirk Elifson, Charly Collin, Cory Kinberger, Gabriela Llave, Maxwell Miller and Beckylin Orooji.
Most competitions require competitors to secure and defend a lackluster network from attacks by professional hackers. But 麻豆精品 S淏uild the Shield 麻豆精品 S� is different; teams must secure and defend their own network while also attacking those of their competitors.
Microsoft is using the competition to ensure the security of its networks and products. With recent major data breaches at corporate giants including Sony, Target, Home Depot and Anthem, cyber-defense is something more companies are paying attention to.
麻豆精品 S淭he skills they 麻豆精品 S檙e using here are skills most corporations would need for their own security departments, 麻豆精品 S� Nedorost said. 麻豆精品 S淐ompanies are hiring people to make sure their networks are secure so hackers can 麻豆精品 S檛 get into them. 麻豆精品 S�
Winners of the Microsoft competition win laptops, Xbox One bundles and tablets 麻豆精品 S� plus a chance to interview with Microsoft for future job opportunities.