University of Maryland, Baltimore County wins CyberForce Competition

The participating team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was recognized Monday as the national winner of the Department of Energy’s 2019 CyberForce Competition, which encourages cyber defense development initiatives.

“CyberForce brings together our nation’s brightest students to protect against tomorrow’s threats, a uniquely American approach to problem-solving,” Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, said. “These competitions identify and honor tomorrow’s cybersecurity experts to encourage their continued work in a vital field. Congratulations to this year’s winners and thank you to all the bright students who participated.”

Officials noted 105 collegiate teams from 32 states and one territory participated in the endeavor, with contestants ranging from undergraduate freshmen to Ph.D. candidates.

“Every year, the CyberForce Competition attracts more and more talented students,” Karen S. Evans, assistant secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, said. “And with the expansion to address professional recruitment, the competition will only continue to grow. We envision this competition to be a tool to assist our sector closing skills gaps and shortages of experts.”

Teams were challenged to defend one of four system scenarios involving an energy company’s solar generation facility, electric substation, data center, or manufacturing plant while also communicating with the other three infrastructures to monitor and maintain the integrity of the system as a whole.