Hail to the Victors!
It was a beautiful day in North Charleston, South Carolina, but tensions were running high at the . PCDC Airlines, the fictitious airline at the heart of this year’s challenge, was under attack! Teams of cybersecurity professionals were competing to defend the airline’s network from a barrage of threats and keep it up and running.
Phishing attacks, DDoS attacks, and even physical intrusions plagued the networks. Help desk tickets, check-in support, and admin requests demanded immediate attention. Each team worked tirelessly to defend the network and keep flights running smoothly, but only one team could emerge victorious.
²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Takes Home The Hardware!
CAPT Nicole K. Nigro, USN, the commanding officer at Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic presents the first-place trophy to ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍøers Trey Everette, James Dieteman, Luke Gigiano, James Steff, Sean Dunaway, and Carlos Bermudez. The team included Nic Steidl and Don Brewer, collegeÌýjuniors who joinedÌýthe ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø team after competing in their earlier collegiate bracket. The competition is a great opportunity for high school and college students to gain experience, mentorship, and insight from cybersecurity professionals!
Don Brewer and Nic Steidl pore over a problem across from Sean Dunaway, project manager at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø. “I had so much fun competing and contributing to the ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø team,†remarked Don Brewer. “I learned a lot from [the team’s] skill and graceful execution.â€
[Learn more about ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø training and mentorship]
PCDC: A Test in Real-world Scenarios
PCDC is an annual cyber competition sponsored by NIWC and the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) where high school and college students, as well as IT professionals, test their skills and mettle against real-world scenarios.ÌýThis year’sÌýevent featured tough competition with BAE, Dominion Energy, ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø, GDIT, SAIC, and SRC all competing.Ìý