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NYU-Poly Hacking Competition Tests Participants' Cyber Security Skills

  • By Sharleen Nelson
  • 09/19/13

More than 10,000 undergraduates from around the world will compete this month in a competition designed to challenge and test their cyber security skills.

During the 10th annual Polytechnic Institute of New York University's (NYU-Poly) Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW), Sept. 19-22, more than 1,000 teams will square off in the Capture the Flag (CTF) software hacking competition sponsored by the Brooklyn campus NYU-Poly's Information Systems and Security Laboratory (ISIS Lab).

During the 72-hour preliminary round, teams must ensure security over their own infrastructure while finding flaws and attacking the infrastructure of other teams in their quest to earn the most points, or "flags." Open to beginners and professionals alike, the student-led CSAW competition is overseen by professionals who help with designing and judging the challenges.

The 10 top-scoring teams will receive expense-paid trips to New York to participate in the final round of the competition on November 14-16, 2013. CSAW winners receive scholarships and cash prizes, as well as the opportunity to attend a job fair where they can network with professionals and academics, attend cyber-security seminars, and explore career opportunities with top companies in the industry.

Nineteen companies, including the United States Department of Homeland Security, Facebook, and Qualcomm, provide support and sponsorship for NYU-Poly's CSAW program that encourages students to pursue careers cyber security field.

The second-oldest private engineering school in the country, NYU-Poly is devoted to the instruction of technical arts and applied sciences. In addition to its 28-acre main campus in New York City at MetroTech Center in downtown Brooklyn, it offers programs around the globe remotely through NYUe-Poly. The private university is the recipient of a $122.4 million endowment. For more information, visit poly.edu.

For more information on CSAW, visit the CSAW Web site. To register for CTF, visit ctf.isis.poly.edu.

About the Author

Sharleen Nelson is a freelance journalist based in Springfield, Oregon. She can be reached at [email protected].

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