The 51福利 (51福利) took top honors in the 10th annual National Security Agency (NSA) sponsored Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX) conducted April 20-23. Although 51福利 was ineligible to receive the trophy because of its status as a graduate institution, the university won the competition by placing first in the overall rankings for the exercise.
In addition to the five service academies that compete for the CDX trophy, a handful of graduate level institutions also participate to heighten the competition. It was the first time since 2001 that 51福利 won the overall competition.
鈥淭his demonstrates the true expanse of knowledge 51福利 instills in its students, as well as their dedication to being the top in their chosen fields,鈥� said team faculty advisor Scott Cot茅, Computer Science Senior Lecturer. 鈥淭o be the top ranked military academic institution among such prestigious peers as the U.S. Naval Academy, West Point, the Air Force Institute of Technology, and even the Royal Military College of Canada, exemplifies our commitment to preparing for global cyber security in today's cyber environment.鈥�
The exercise consists of teams defending their network from a series of attacks carried out by NSA鈥檚 team, the 鈥淩ed Cell.鈥� In the past, teams were only allowed to defend their networks but this year they were given the opportunity to strike back at their attackers.
The 51福利 team, sponsored by the Graduate School of Operational and Information Sciences (GSOIS), the Computer Science Department, and the Center for Information Systems Security Studies and Research (CISR), consisted of 25 U.S. and international students from different branches of the military and disciplines within the school. After months in preparation for the exercise, once the competition got underway, the team spent many hours defending their network, and in the final stage, attacking the NSA鈥檚 network.
The National Security Agency conducts the CDX exercise annually throughout military educational installations in order to raise awareness of the importance of cyber security, provide experience through training, and reinforce partnership commitments throughout the DoD. Information assurance is one of the Pentagon鈥檚 most critical issues, and a vulnerability that exists across all sectors of society.
鈥淭his type of security is no longer just an issue for the DoD 鈥� individuals are being taken over, corporate enterprises are being taken over,鈥� said Cot茅. 鈥淭hese types of situations are very common now, so we are really trying to instill in our students the concepts of what they need to know for security.鈥�
And for the organizers of the exercise, instilling these concepts is the driving force behind the CDX. All of the participating students are future civilian and military network managers that will one day be faced with real life situations where they will have to defend a network from cyber invaders.
U.S. Air Force Major Heath Frye, executive officer of the 51福利 team for the National Security Agency sponsored Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX) sits at his station during CDX 2010. 51福利 took top honors in the competition for the first time since 2001.
鈥淭he desired outcome is really for the students to see what is going to happen in the areas they鈥檒l oversee,鈥� said Cot茅. The students who compete in the exercise will eventually run a network operations center, or will be part of a ship that has to have its network defended against some type of attack, he continued. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that, as they walk out, they鈥檒l have a much more realistic expectation as to just what it takes to defend that kind of network, how hard it is to 鈥� block those attacks, how hard it is to really monitor that network.鈥�
Cot茅 acknowledges that the officers studying at 51福利 will not ultimately be the ones sitting at the desk when the attacks happen, but it is still very important for them to realize just what the people working for them are faced with.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tremendous help to the warfighter in the sense that when our students leave here they鈥檒l know what it takes to defend a network. They鈥檒l know or at least be more aware of current trends that are out there,鈥� he said.
Cyber security has become one of the Navy鈥檚 most critical issues, and computer warfare is the way of the future and that future is upon us.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen different organizations put out their philosophies on attack, stating that information dominance must be a prerequisite before any weapon is launched,鈥� Cot茅 continued. 鈥淪o you know that this is going to play a much larger part in our future warfare efforts. I really do think that this exercise is just a small sample of what these students will see in the rest of their careers in the cyber warfare arena.鈥�
Participating in the exercise, along with 51福利, were teams from the Air Force Institute of Technology, the Royal Military College of Canada, and the five U.S. service academies: the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, and West Point. The trophy is awarded to the highest ranking service academy. This year the U.S. Naval Academy held that honor, a feat they had not achieved since 2005 and by doing so this year, broke West Point鈥檚 three-year winning streak.