DOE to host virtual CyberForce Competition for college students

The U.S. Department of Energy will host the CyberForce Competition on November 14, an event where college students compete in a realistic cybersecurity defense exercise.

It is the sixth annual event, but for the first five years, teams competed. This year, due to the pandemic, individual students will compete. Approximately 400 students from accredited U.S. institutions will be selected to participate by random lottery.

This year’s event will be entirely online and virtual. But the goal remains the same, to defend cyber systems of simulated critical infrastructure against threats to the energy sector today. Participants are presented with a realistic scenario in which they must defend a specific energy-related cyber-physical infrastructure against attack. This year, the scenario involves a wind energy company in charge of over 20,000 megawatts of electricity generation experiencing abnormal network activity.

“We’re inspiring the next generation of cybersecurity professionals with this competition,” Amanda Joyce, CyberForce Competition director and cybersecurity analysis group lead at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, said. “The nation needs this talent to safeguard critical energy infrastructure and other assets.”

Argonne National Lab will manage the competition on behalf of DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories are also participating.

The event is designed to grow the cybersecurity workforce. According to the DOE, the American cybersecurity workforce must grow 62 percent — or nearly 500,000 professionals — to fill the current skills gap.

“The U.S. energy sector is under constant threat of cyberattacks,” Mark Wesley Menezes, deputy secretary of energy, said. ​“The CyberForce Competition is unique in that it trains the next generation of cyber professionals on defending the energy infrastructure while also maintaining usability of the systems.”

The competition is co-funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, and the DOE Office of Science. Corporate sponsors of this year’s event include SANS, Cobalt Strike, Federal Training Partnership, Microsoft Azure Government, (ISC)2, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Public Power Association, ICF, Trustwave, KeyLogic, General Atomics Electromagnetics, National Association of State Energy Officials, ComEd, CybatiWorks, and ISACA.