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Students around the region compete in cybersecurity competition

Students across the country are taking part in the fourth collegiate CyberForce competition. For the first time, the Idaho National Laboratory will host and provide help for universities in the region.

“It’s actually a national competition sponsored by the (U.S. Department of Energy) and it’s focused on really important national security critical challenge that we’re facing right now and that’s control systems cybersecurity,” said Scott Cramer, director of Cybercore Integration Center at INL.

The CyberForce competition at the INL will host six different universities around the region to compete against hundreds of students around the nation. School teams participating at INL include: Brigham Young University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Idaho State University, LDS Business College, University of Utah, and University of Wyoming.

Students are going to protect a simulated oil transportation network, power delivery system and high-performance computing system.

“This is going to give them a lot of skills that they would need to learn and help defend the grid,” Cramer said. “One of the most critical challenges that we have right now in the nation is that we don’t have the workforce necessary to combat this problem.”

The event hopes to address the cybersecurity workforce skills gap and increase security awareness around energy-critical infrastructure.

“At some point I know I’m going to be gone, my fellow researchers are going to be gone. We need this next level to come up because the cybersecurity problems of America are not getting any smaller,” said Darren Stephens, the program manager for cybersecurity research and development at the INL. “They’re growing and the gap for the experience versus the demand is ever growing.”

The competition gives students a real world challenge. INL hopes the experience will encourage students to think about a job that’s in high demand.

“For students to come from different schools and to be able to learn a little bit about INL’s mission,” said Sean McBride, the cyber physical security instructor at ISU. “I think that will really get them enthused about the types of projects that exist in the federal government.”

The event will not only give students hands-on experience, but will give them a way to network with a potential employers like the INL.

“I know they’re always looking and if you’re lucky enough maybe you can be looked at,” said Kip Nelson, an ISU student.

The event kicks off Saturday morning at 7 a.m. and lasts until 6 p.m. There will be a winner at each of the seven laboratory sites participating, as well as an overall national winner.

Additional teams will be hosted at Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, Illinois), Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, New York), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, California), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, Tennessee), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, Washington), and Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, New Mexico).

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