Logical Operations, the world’s leading provider of information technology instructor-led courseware, was a sponsor of the first Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC), a two-day hackathon event held by Rochester Institute of Technology this past weekend on November 7th and 8th. Student teams from RIT, Alfred State College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Penn State, Syracuse University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, University of New Hampshire, University of Buffalo and the United States Naval Academy, participated in the weekend competition.
The first-of-its-kind competition allows students to learn about cybersecurity from a different vantage point—offense, as opposed to defense. Teams from nine regional universities faced-off at RIT as they broke into computer networks, evaluated their weak points and presented plans to better secure them. The competition allows students to experience a day in the life of a penetration tester—the security professionals hired to test and evaluate an organization’s computer systems and networks to make sure malicious hackers can’t get in. For the competition, teams of three to six students interrogated a mock-company’s network. The following morning, they presented a report to the judges on their findings and offered their suggestions for mitigating risk.
Judges and sponsors from the security industry got to see how participants perform under fire, while students met with experts, handed out résumés, and had the opportunity to purchase exam vouchers for Logical Operations’ high-stakes Certified CyberSec First Responder: Threat Detection and Response exam, which will validate that they have the skills required to analyze threats, secure networks, handle incidents, and utilize other critical security skills necessary to ensure that they can protect organizations from cyber threats once they are on the job.
In addition to Logical Operations, other sponsors of the event included Vectra Networks and IBM. Judges included sponsors, faculty, and members of the Pentest Advisory Board who work as pentesters at companies, including Crowe Horwath, Uber and Facebook.
University of Buffalo took home the top trophy in the competition, while RIT placed second and Syracuse University placed third. The top teams were noted for their exemplary positive professional attitudes, excellence in organization and both written and verbal communication skills.
After the success of this year’s event, Rochester Institute of Technology is already planning its second Collegiate Pentesting Competition.
“You bet we’ll be doing this again next year,” said Bill Stackpole, associate professor of computing security at RIT and director of the competition. “Along with the advisory board, sponsors and teams, we look forward to building the next generation of security professionals so they can meet and exceed the challenges of the future.”
“The real-world focus of the RIT CPTC event created a great experience for everyone who participated. This was just the type of leading innovation in the cybersecurity field that Logical Operations is proud support and foster,” said Paul Hoffmann, Director of Certifications, Logical Operations.
About Logical Operations
Logical Operations helps organizations and individuals maximize training with an adaptable expert-facilitated learning experience. Its more than 5,100 titles are available globally through flexible delivery platforms that are designed for any learning environment. Logical Operations also offers a growing portfolio of high-stakes certifications such as Logical Operations Certified CyberSec First Responder and assessments including Logical Operations Certified CyberSAFE. Logical Operations' CEO, Bill Rosenthal, is a board member of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and works alongside representatives from organizations such as AT&T, Bank of America, Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Verizon, Visa, and more, to make sure that everyone has the education and resources needed to stay safe and secure online. For more information, connect with Logical Operations at http://logicaloperations.com and on Twitter @logicalops.
