Cybersecurity Competition Research Articles

Securing the Network: A Red and Blue Cybersecurity Competition Case Study

In today’s dynamic and evolving digital landscape, safeguarding network infrastructure against cyber threats has become a paramount concern for organizations worldwide. This paper presents a novel and practical approach to enhancing cybersecurity readiness. The competition, designed as a simulated cyber battleground, involves a Red Team emulating attackers and a Blue Team defending against their orchestrated assaults. Over two days, multiple teams engage in strategic maneuvers to breach and fortify digital defenses. The core objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of the Red and Blue cybersecurity competition in fostering real-world incident response capabilities and honing the skills of cybersecurity practitioners. This paper delves into the competition’s structural framework, including the intricate network architecture and the roles of the participating teams. This study gauges the competition’s impact on enhancing teamwork and incident response strategies by analyzing participant performance data and outcomes. The findings underscore the significance of immersive training experiences in cultivating proactive cybersecurity mindsets. Participants not only showcase heightened proficiency in countering cyber threats but also develop a profound understanding of attacker methodologies. Furthermore, the competition fosters an environment of continuous learning and knowledge exchange, propelling participants toward heightened cyber resilience.

Women in tech – role models for girls. Estonian case

ABSTRACT The proportion of women in the IT sector is decreasing. In schools, girls tend to stay away from IT or take on roles in softer activities such as digital safety, social media. Studying and working in IT requires technical skillset. At the same time, the sector would need people with people and organizational skills as well. Technical skills can be learnt, but how to make the IT sector (especially cyber security) edible for young women is still a mystery. In the study, we look at data from the female role models project (2021), 7–12. Class Cyber Security Competition CyberDrill (2020–2021) and university admissions and dropouts (2021). There are fewer solutions than questions, example how should the world change so that it is easier for women to apply their skills in the IT sector, or should the women change? In this article I am reviewing various aspects of education that can influence girls’ choices. This shows the complexity of the problem, where on the one hand there are opportunities offered by the school and society and on the other hand, the expectations, and attitudes of girls in schools and women in tech need still to overcome.

Developing a Cyber Incident Exercises Model to Educate Security Teams

Since cyber attacks are increasing and evolving rapidly, the need to enhance cyber-security defense is crucial. A cyber incident exercise model is a learning technique to provide knowledge about cyber security to enhance a security team’s incident response. In this research work, we proposed a cyber incident model to handle real-time security attacks in various scenarios. The proposed model consisted of three teams: (1) the black team, (2) the red team, and (3) the blue team. The black team was a group of instructors responsible for setting up the environment. They had to educate the red and blue teams about cyber security and train them on facing cyber attacks. Once the training period was completed, the members were divided into two teams to conduct a cyber-security competition in a cyber game scenario. Each of the two teams performed a different task. The red team was the offensive team that was responsible for launching cyber-security attacks. The blue team was the defensive team that was responsible for countering attacks and minimizing the damage caused by attackers; they had to conduct both cyber-security configuration and incident handling. During the scenario, the black team was responsible for guiding and monitoring both the red and the blue teams, ensuring the rules were applied throughout the competition. At the end of the competition, the members of each team changed with each other to make sure every team member was using the knowledge they gained from the training period and every participant was evaluated impartially. Finally, we showed the security team’s offensive and defensive skills via the red team and the blue team, respectively.

미국과 중국의 사이버안보 경쟁에 관한 연구: 군사?기술?외교 분야를 중심으로

본 연구는 미국과 중국의 사이버안보 경쟁을 군사적, 기술적, 외교적 차원에서 입체적으로 조망하여 양국의 경쟁의 본질을 규명하고 이를 통해 한국이 양국의 경쟁속에서 생존하기 위해 전략적으로 고려해야하는 상황들은 무엇인지 규명하기 위한 목적으로 작성되었다. 이를 위해 신흥 안보영역인 사이버공간이 전통적 안보영역과 대비되는 특징과 이러한 특징들이 미국과 중국의 사이버안보 경쟁에 어떻게 투영되어 있는지 살펴보았다. 연구결과 미국과 중국 모두 신흥안보 영역인 사이버공간 확보를 사활적 국가이익으로 간주하고 있었으며 양국 모두 사이버공간에서 자국의 영향력 확대에 지대한 노력을 하고 있는 것으로 확인되었다. 현재 양국의 사이버안보 경쟁의 본질은 사이버공간의 규범과 규칙을 둘러싼 경쟁이며 자국의 규범과 규칙에 동조하는 나라를 끌어들여 유대를 만드는 소위 네트워크파워게임으로 정의할 수 있다. 이에 본 고에서는 양국의 치열한 사이버안보경쟁속에서 살아남기위해 한국도 구체적인 사이버안보전략 마련이 필요하다는 점을 강조하고자 하였다.

6 Takeaways From Cyber Crime 2019

Organised by BCS and sponsored by BT, the Cyber Crime Cup saw a world first: a cyber security competition held live and as a spectator sport. All the action, learning and sharing of cyber skills took place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Cyber ranges - virtual training grounds where attackers and defender teams can hone their skills - are, of course, nothing new; many events and organisations host capture the flag style cyber challenges. By contrast, The Cyber Cup borrowed its format from eSports: competitive and live computer gaming that turned red teaming into a spectacle that was enjoyed, understood and applauded by a live audience. Along with being exciting to watch, the Cyber Crime Cup was an invaluable learning experience for competitors and the audience.

The Chaos of Now by Erin Jade Lange

Reviewed by: The Chaos of Now by Erin Jade Lange Wesley Jacques Lange, Erin Jade The Chaos of Now. Bloomsbury, 2018 [304p] ISBN 978-1-61963-502-9 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys M Gr. 8-12 A year ago, high school sophomore Eli Bennett witnessed a classmate set himself on fire and since then precautionary measures have been set in place by the administration to put a stop to the cyberbullying believed to have led to the act. When a pair of tech-savvy outcasts approach hacker Eli with an idea to win a national cyber-security competition as well as avenge their late classmate, he is intrigued by the challenge. As the idea devolves into an anonymous website targeting the mean girls and boys of their small-town Iowa high school and exposing their secrets, Eli and co. must grapple with the ethical merit of their quickly escalating retaliation plan. At best, the story progresses like a tech bro version of Gossip Girl, especially as other students begin submitting their own scandalous gossip, tips, and videos, including a hacked video of a girl's striptease that quickly crosses a line into revenge porn when posted and undermines any moral high ground the novel has struggled to establish for its frustratingly naïve characters. Juvenile and repetitive conversations between the teenage boys and the few women allowed to chime in—including a clumsily exoticized Mexican-American love interest for Eli—don't work to make the plot any more effective. As more details are discovered about last year's suicide, even more reasons to dislike the boys at the center of this all emerge, and the story loses track of how consequential its big ideas—bullying, youth suicide, ethics in digital spaces, etc.—could have been and ends without any real repercussions for its teenage characters. WJ Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

The Outcomes of Cybersecurity Competitions and Implications for Underrepresented Populations

Although advocates promote cybersecurity competitions as beneficial for participants, little research has methodically evaluated these competitions' outcomes and implications. Drawing primarily on Cybersecurity Competition Federation workshops, literature reviews, and outcomes of similar STEM competitions, the authors consider how cybersecurity competitions might increase student awareness of cybersecurity careers and build their confidence and self-efficacy. Studies relevant to gifted students, females, and low-income and/or high-risk groups are highlighted.

Profiling cybersecurity competition participants: Self-efficacy, decision-making and interests predict effectiveness of competitions as a recruitment tool

This paper presents the main results of a large-scale survey on cybersecurity competition participants in the past decade. 588 participants of the Cybersecurity Awareness Week (CSAW) competition were surveyed with measures of personality, interests, culture, decision-making and attachment styles in an exploratory study designed to identify the characteristics of cybersecurity competition participants. Subgroups analyses were performed to examine individual differences between self-proclaimed hackers and non-hackers, males and females, and cybersecurity employees versus students. Regression analyses were used to identify variables that influenced the extent to which cybersecurity competitions were effective at convincing participants to pursue a future career in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity participants who displayed higher self-efficacy, rational decision-making style, and more investigative interests were more likely to declare an interest in a career in cybersecurity after the competition.