A collegiate team from University of Maryland won the fifth iteration of a Department of Energy contest aimed at developing future cybersecurity professionals in the energy sector. The 2019 CyberForce Competition drew 105 teams of students that included undergraduates and Ph.D. candidates, DOE said Monday.
Participants were tasked to defend and maintain the integrity of one of four energy infrastructures from a simulated attack and to enable communication with the other systems. Argonne National Laboratory and nine other DOE-funded labs collaborated with industry and National Guard to develop the scenarios used in the challenge.
“These competitions identify and honor tomorrow’s cybersecurity experts to encourage their continued work in a vital field,” said Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
DOE’s CyberForce Competition Professional Pilot program coincided with the collegiate contest and tested the abilities of defensive cyber operators through a simulated setting.