U.S. Cyber Challenge to Host Camp & Competition in Las Vegas
Published: July 24, 2018 | Read Time: 3 minutes
For the first time in its history, U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC) will bring its annual Western Regional Cyber Camp to the Las Vegas, Nevada area. The camp kicks off next week at Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas, and is co-hosted by Southern Utah University. The mission of USCC is to identify rising talent in cybersecurity, provide these individuals with further training, and set them on the path to a successful career in cybersecurity and protecting our nation.
Camp participants qualified for the camp based on their scores from the Cyber Quest competition in April and will spend five days entrenched in rigorous instruction by some of the nation’s leading cybersecurity experts. The camp begins Monday, July 30th and ends on Friday, August 3rd with a Capture-the-Flag (CTF) competition and Award Ceremony. Friday’s competition will test each camper’s individual skills as well as how successful they perform in a team environment. The winners will receive awards and recognition from the ceremony’s keynote speaker, former CIO of the Department of Homeland Security, Luke McCormack, and the mayor of North Las Vegas, John Jay Lee. The CTF and Award Ceremony are open to the media.
“The workforce gap continues to be one of the greatest hurdles impacting the security of our nation’s networks,” stated National Director Karen S. Evans. “Therefore, our work at USCC to identify and train promising talent, is a vital process in securing our nation’s public and private entities. Our goal is to set these talented individuals on a successful career path by validating their skill sets and networking them with potential employers.”
The camp’s intensive classwork programming will include penetration testing, radio frequency hacking, program analysis and memory forensics.
On Wednesday, August 1st the camp will also host an Executive Roundtable luncheon where executives from both the private and public sectors will engage with camp participants to discuss the current needs they see in their workforces and the skills necessary to succeed in a cybersecurity career. Executive attendees will include Luke McCormack, Former CIO of the Department of Homeland Security; Robert Knapp, Chief Operating Officer, NIC; Jayne Friedland Holland, Chief Security Officer, NIC; Doug Logan, CEO, Cyber Ninjas; Fran Bromley-Norwood, Cybersecurity Instructor, Cheyenne High School; Darin Gifford and Josh Hess of Casino Game Maker, Inc.
The Western Regional Cyber Camp is supported in part through partnerships with Accenture, Amazon Web Services, the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM), Center for Cyber Safety & Education, Center for Internet Security (CIS), CenturyLink, Cyber Ninjas, Defense Point Security LLC, the Department of Homeland Security, Duo, (ISC)2, Monster Government Solutions, NIC, SANS Institute, and Sherman Consulting. Local sponsors include Net Force and Casino Game Maker Inc.
The 2018 Cyber Summer Camp Series features four camps located in Delaware, Illinois, Nevada and Virginia. In line with the mission of USCC’s parent organization, the Center for Internet Security, the camps are an integral part in the mission to identify and develop cybersecurity talent in order to reduce the nation’s cybersecurity workforce gap and safeguard private and public organizations from cyber threats. Participants in USCC programming are encouraged to continue developing their skills and network with like-minded individuals by becoming active members in Cyber Complex, an online social community specifically for cybersecurity enthusiasts.
For more information about the Cyber Camp program and each of the specific camps, visit U.S. Cyber Challenge online at the U.S. Cyber Challenge website.
Contact Information:
435-586-5400
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