Competition That’s Worth the Effort

Maryland Cyber Challenge founding partner SAIC to offer internships and possible jobs to student winners.

Victory just got even sweeter. High school and college students who compete in the inaugural Maryland Cyber Challenge & Conference (MDC3), to be held October 21-22 at the Baltimore Convention Center, will now have the chance to win more than scholarships and the prestige of being the victors. They’ll have a chance to win work experience and an interview with a major tech company.

SAIC, one of the founding partners of the Maryland Cyber Challenge & Conference, has just announced they will be offering paid summer internships to qualified high school and college students on the winning teams. In addition, qualified college seniors who win will have the opportunity to interview with senior managers at SAIC to be considered for possible employment. This is in addition to the scholarships that will be offered to student competitors and the recognition awards for professional teams.

“SAIC is committed to finding and developing the best talent available in cybersecurity in the Baltimore-Washington region,” says Ann Burns, Director of Human Resources for SAIC’s Cyber and Information Solutions Business Unit. “The Maryland Cyber Challenge & Conference will bring together the brightest cybersecurity minds in the state of Maryland. We want those minds to be part of our team, which is why we’ve decided to extend internships and the opportunity to interview for challenging work in this field to the student winners.”

In addition, the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), a not-for-profit, international organization of information security professionals and practitioners, will be awarding one year of membership to the first-place winners in all divisions of competition, as well as the second-place finishers in the high school and college divisions.

Teams of up to six players will compete in one of three divisions: high school, college or university, and professional. High school teams will practice basic cyber defense techniques, while university and professional teams will use more advanced forensic techniques and employ both offensive and defensive strategies in a head-to-head “capture the flag” challenge.

Two qualifying rounds will be held online using SAIC’s Cyber Network Exercise System (CyberNEXS), a scalable training, exercise and certification system. The second qualifying round, held at the end of September, will determine the final teams from each division that will go on to compete against each other in person at the October conference. Winners of each division will receive their trophies and awards at a formal ceremony to be held at UMBC in November.

The Maryland Cyber Challenge & Conference will highlight the region’s growing cyber industry. Opportunities for skills development, knowledge transfer and networking will make this first time event one of the most exciting in the industry. The conference will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center on October 21-22, 2011. Registration is now open at http://www.mdc3.org/registration.html .

About the Maryland Cyber Challenge & Conference (MDC3)The inaugural Maryland Cyber Challenge & Conference (MDC3) will be held October 21-22 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The event will give teams of high school students, college and university students, and professionals the opportunity to learn about cybersecurity and develop practical skills for defending computers while competing for scholarships and prizes in a fun environment. The conference will feature keynote speakers, breakout sessions and vendor booths for an audience of students, parents and professionals from academia, industry and government. Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities are both available. MDC3 was created by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) [NYSE: SAI] and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in partnership with the Department of Business & Economic Development (DBED), the Tech Council of Maryland (TCM) and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) with the goal of encouraging Maryland students and young professionals to pursue education and careers in cybersecurity. MDC3 supports the State of Maryland’s initiative to become the nation’s epicenter for innovation in cybersecurity. For more information, please visit http://www.mdc3.org/.