2010 Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NECCDC)
Introduction
On February 27 and 28, 2004, a group of educators, students, government and industry representatives gathered in San Antonio, Texas, to discuss the feasibility and desirability of establishing regular cyber security exercises with a uniform structure for post-secondary level students. During their discussions this group suggested the goals of creating a uniform structure for cyber security exercises might include the following:
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Providing a template from which any educational institution can build a cyber security exercise
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Providing enough structure to allow for competition among schools, regardless of size or resources
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Motivating more educational institutions to offer students an opportunity to gain practical experience in information assurance
The group also identified concerns related to limiting participation to post-secondary students, creating a level playing field to eliminate possible advantages due to hardware and bandwidth differences, having a clear set of rules, implementing a fair and impartial scoring system, and addressing possible legal concerns.
We are fortunate that Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) agreed to host the 2008 and 2009 Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NECCDC). Ideally, this competition can be hosted by multiple schools in the Northeast. In 2010, the University of Maine will host the competition. At this time no one has stepped forward to host the 2011 NECCDC.
Some Details about the 2010 NECCDC
We are ready to announce some of the details of the 2010 Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. This competition will be held at the University of Maine which is located in Orono, Maine. The competition will start on Friday, March 5 and end on Sunday March 7. Since the competition is very similar to the competitions that have come earlier, we have provided information from the earlier contests to provide background. We are still working on the details for the upcoming competition and will be posting materials as they become available.
Teams must pay their own expenses such as travel, room and some meals. It is our intent to cover most of the meals, expenses for setting up the competition, cost of awards, etc.
In the past there have been difficulties because teams have not shown up after registration. This causes several problems. First, the host must prepare for teams that don't show up. Second, other teams are kept from entering because the maximum number of teams competing is bounded. For example, this year we can take a maximum of 10 teams.
Please read the following paragraph carefully. To deal with the problem of teams registering and not showing up we are asking every team that wants to compete to pay a non-refundable $750 registration fee. Those teams that show up with at least six team members and a faculty/staff coach will receive a $750 travel assistance grant. This should help limit applicants to teams that are serious about showing up for the competition. Notice that we are not making any money on this - we just want to make sure that people who register are very serious about showing up for the competition.
For more information about the competition to to the Team Info page. The 2010 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition will be held in San Antonio, Texas on April 16-18, 2010.
Tentative Competition Schedule
Friday - March 5, 2010
11:00 AM Registration opens
11:30 AM Opening announcements and orientation
12:30-1:30 PM Lunch available
1:30 PM Competition Day 1 begins
7:00 PM Competition Day 1 complete
Saturday - March 6, 2010
8:15-8:45 AM Continental breakfast available
8:45 AM Day 2 Announcements
9:00 AM Competition Day 2 begins
12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch available
7:00 PM Competition Day 2 complete
7:30 PM (Trying to Organize a Group Dinner)
Sunday - March 7, 2010
8:15-8:45 AM Continental breakfast available8:45 AM Day 3 Announcements
9:00 AM Competition Day 3 begins
12:00 PM Competition Day 3 complete
12:15 PM-1:00 PM Industry/Student interaction (informal)
1:00 PM-3:00 PM Lunch and awards ceremony