UCF students have introduced a new way for future cyber professionals to develop the hands-on cyber skills they 麻豆精品 S檒l need in their careers. Horse Plinko, a live cyberattack-simulation contest named after a meme of a horse falling through a plinko board, has exploded in popularity since its introduction last year.
Organizers hosted its second Horse Plinko Cyber Competition this month, attracting more than 160 competitors.
The contest with the silly name offers serious experience for anyone interested in cyber defense. Participants role-play as cybersecurity interns who defend a fictional company, the International Horse Plinko League, from various cyberattacks. During the six-hour competition, 麻豆精品 S減linkterns 麻豆精品 S� are tasked with three priorities: identifying threats, bolstering defenses to keep the threats from returning, and keeping the company 麻豆精品 S檚 critical services up and running in real time.
麻豆精品 S淲e simulate a business network for teams to defend and pit them against live attackers attempting, and succeeding, to hack into their network, 麻豆精品 S� says competition director Harrison Keating 麻豆精品 S�24, a cybersecurity and privacy master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree student and captain of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition (C3) team. 麻豆精品 S淭hat’s an experience many of them will not get again until they are working in the field. 麻豆精品 S�
One of the big draws to Horse Plinko is the levity its organizers have weaved into the event. The contest underscores the valuable hands-on experience it offers with a healthy dose of fun.
麻豆精品 S淲e have a LinkedIn profile and website for the fictional company, there’s recurring characters that appear in-person during the competition, and there are a lot of running jokes, 麻豆精品 S� Keating says. 麻豆精品 S淜eeping it light-hearted helps make the competition more approachable to new students. 麻豆精品 S�
He adds that Horse Plinko is structured to mimic a real-world environment not just in terms of the technical skills required of future cyber professionals, but for the interpersonal skills needed as well.
麻豆精品 S淐ybersecurity is a highly collaborative field, and this is a good chance for them to develop their teamwork and communication skills in a high-pressure environment, 麻豆精品 S� Keating says. 麻豆精品 S淚t also helps students network with their peers and learn from each other. 麻豆精品 S�
With several dozen competitions under their belts 麻豆精品 S� including a recent National College Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC) championship 麻豆精品 S� organizers have a wealth of experience to draw upon to develop and run the event. They intend to bring cyber skills to the masses with a contest designed to be accessible to anyone with an interest in cyber, no matter the major or skill level.
麻豆精品 S淥ur club has over 350 members, and only eight of them get to compete in the National CCDC, 麻豆精品 S� says Keating. 麻豆精品 S淥ur mission is to provide that kind of quality learning experience to as many students as possible. 麻豆精品 S�
Keating says live contests like these aren 麻豆精品 S檛 widely available to students because of the infrastructure and manpower required to run them. Horse Plinko, however, is supported by hundreds of members from the C3 team and Hack@UCF. Previous Horse Plinko competitors returned to help run the next event, bringing their ideas and experience to a new batch of plinkterns.
麻豆精品 S淚t enables us to design from the perspective of a beginner and tailor the experience to where they’re at in their learning journey, 麻豆精品 S� Keating says.
First-time competitor Muhammad Ali, a freshman computer science major, was completely new to cyber competitions. He shunned 麻豆精品 S渂lue team 麻豆精品 S� or cyber defense activities, preferring to work on 麻豆精品 S渞ed team 麻豆精品 S� or cyberattack skills. Despite an obvious interest and acumen in cybersecurity 麻豆精品 S� he says he hacked into his dad 麻豆精品 S檚 computer at the age of 9 麻豆精品 S� he says he didn 麻豆精品 S檛 think he had the skills to participate.
That all changed after his first experience with Horse Plinko.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 a different story when you 麻豆精品 S檙e tasked against a whole squad of live red team hackers trying everything to take your services down, 麻豆精品 S� Ali says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 a lot of fun. 麻豆精品 S�
He and his team placed second at the competition. In addition, he 麻豆精品 S檚 now scheduled to compete at two out-of-state cyber competitions next month.
麻豆精品 S淚 suffer from imposter syndrome where I feel as if I 麻豆精品 S檓 not actually good enough for cybersecurity, 麻豆精品 S� says Ali. 麻豆精品 S淪urprisingly a lot of people do. UCF has a great community that has instilled not just self-confidence but acceptance for myself. 麻豆精品 S�
Ali adds that he has every intention of participating in Horse Plinko again as an attacker on the red team.
麻豆精品 S淚 never thought I 麻豆精品 S檇 enjoy Horse Plinko this much, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚 am 100% doing this again next year. If you 麻豆精品 S檙e afraid of 麻豆精品 S榖lue teaming 麻豆精品 S�, or [are] new to cybersecurity, Horse Plinko is the best place to get first-hand experience. 麻豆精品 S�
