Southeastern Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition

The Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (SECCDC) is the Southeast U.S. qualifying event for the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC)– the largest college-level cyber defense competition in the world.^[1] SECCDC is hosted annually at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA. The 11th Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition was held on April 6-7, 2016. In June 2005, members of the Kennesaw State University’s Center for Information Security Education attended a presentation by the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition and recognized the value of the program. KSU immediately volunteered to create a similar event at KSU in 2006, to provide a regional competition to recognize the best team in the Southeast, and to work to sponsor that team to the National competition hosted by UTSA.^[2]

While similar to other cyber security competitions in many aspects, the SECCDC (like all events aligned with the NCCDC) focuses on the operational aspect of managing and protecting (defending) an existing network infrastructure. While other exercises examine the abilities of a group of students to design, configure, and protect a network over the course of an entire semester, this competition is focused on the more operational task of assuming administrative and protective duties for an existing commercial network. Teams are assessed based on their ability to detect and respond to outside threats, maintain availability of existing services such as mail servers and web servers, respond to business requests such as the addition or removal of additional services, and balance security needs against business needs.

Governance

The SECCDC is governed by a Board of Advisors which operates under a set of published bylaws.^[3] In March 2010, the bylaws were amended by the Board and all participating schools to enable KSU as the default venue for future SECCDC events.

Events

2016

• Dates: April 6-7, 2016
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA, Coles College of Business; Burruss Building
• 1st Place: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
• Coach: Dr. Tom Nedorost
• Members:
  • Jonathan Lundstrom, Team Captain
  • Alexander Davis, Team Co-Captain
  • Carolyn Chenicek
  • Kevin Colley
  • Jonathan Haas
  • Heather Lawrence
  • David Maria
  • Matthew St. Hubin
• 2nd Place: Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw GA
• 3rd Place: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte NC
• Other Awards
  • Best in Defense: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte NC
  • Best in Service: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
  • Best in Business: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
• Other Competitors:
  • Mercer University, Macon GA
  • Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville TN
  • University of Florida, Gainesville FL
  • University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington NC
  • University of South Alabama, Mobile AL

2015

• Dates: April 7–8, 2015
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA, Clendenin Computer Sciences Building
• 1st Place: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
• Coach: Dr. Tom Nedorost
• Members:
  • Carlos Beltran, Team Captain
  • Jason Cooper, Team Co-Captain
  • Austin Brogle
  • Conner Brooks
  • Alexander Davis
  • Tyler Dever
  • Kevin DiClemente
  • Jonathan Lundstrom
• 2nd Place: University of South Florida, Tampa FL
• 3rd Place: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte NC
• Other Awards
  • Best in Defense: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte NC
  • Best in Service: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
  • Best in Business: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
• Other Competitors:
  • College of Charleston, Charleston SC
  • Georgia Regents University, Augusta GA
  • Montreat College, Montreat NC
  • Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville TN
  • University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington NC

2014

• Dates: March 31 – April 2, 2014
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA, Clendenin Computer Sciences Building
• 1st Place: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
• Coach: Dr. Tom Nedorost
• Members:
  • Carlos Beltran, Team Captain
  • Jason Cooper, Team Co-Captain
  • Austin Brogle
  • Alexander Davis
  • Kevin DiClemente
  • Grant Hernandez
  • Mark Ignacio
  • Troy Micka
• 2nd Place: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte NC
• 3rd Place: Florida State University, Tallahassee FL
• Other Awards
  • Best in Defense: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
  • Best in Service: University of South Florida, Tampa FL
  • Best in Business: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
• Other Competitors:
  • Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw GA
  • Lipscomb University, Nashville TN
  • Middle Georgia State College, Macon GA
  • Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville TN

2013

• Dates: March 5–7, 2013
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA, Clendenin Computer Sciences Building
• 1st Place: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
• Coach: Dr. Tom Nedorost
• Members:
  • Jonathan Singer, Team Captain
  • Gaelan Adams, Team Co-Captain
  • Carlos Beltran
  • Austin Brogle
  • Grant Hernandez
  • Mark Ignacio
  • Troy Micka
  • Luis Sosa
• 2nd Place: University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington NC
• 3rd Place: Florida State University, Tallahassee FL
• Other Awards
  • Best in Defense: Clemson University, Clemson SC
  • Best in Service: University of Central Florida, Orlando FL
  • Best in Business: University of North Carolina, Charlotte NC
• Other Competitors:
  • Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw GA
  • Mercer University, Macon GA
  • Southern Polytechnic & State University, Marietta GA

2012

• Dates: March 5–7, 2012
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA, Clendenin Computer Sciences Building
• Winner: University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte NC
• Coach: Tony Kombol
• Members:
  • Joshua Schroder
  • Zack Mayo
  • Max Rogers
  • Michael Rosa
  • Doug Lilley
  • Ben Van Pelt
  • Luke Snyder
  • Daniel Colson
• 2nd Place: Mercer University, GA
• 3rd Place: Northern Kentucky University, KY
• Other Awards
  • Best in Defense:
  • Best in Service:
  • Best in Business:
• Other Competitors:
  • Auburn University Montgomery, AL
  • Clemson University, SC
  • Kennesaw State University, GA
  • Southern Polytechnic & State University, GA
  • University of Louisville, KY
  • University of North Carolina, Wilmington NC

2011

• Dates: March 8–10, 2011
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA, Clendenin Computer Sciences Building
• Winner: University of Louisville, KY
• Other Awards
  • Best in Defense: University of Louisville, KY
  • Best in Service: University of Louisville, KY
  • Best in Business: University of Louisville, KY
• Other Competitors:
  • Fountainhead College of Technology, TN
  • Kennesaw State University, GA
  • Mercer University, GA
  • Northern Kentucky University, KY
  • University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC
  • Georgia Southern University, GA
  • Southern Polytechnic State University, GA
  • Tuskegee University, AL
  • University of South Florida, FL

2010

• Dates: March 10–12, 2010
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA, Clendenin Computer Sciences Building
• Winner: University of Louisville, KY
• Other Competitors:
  • Chattanooga State Community College, TN
  • Fountainhead College of Technology, TN
  • Kennesaw State University, GA
  • Mercer University, GA
  • Northern Kentucky University, KY
  • University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC

2009

• Dates:
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA
• Winner: University of North Carolina at Charlotte^[4]
  • Members:
    • Captain: Andrew Falivene
    • Adam Wenner
    • Jonathan Blanton
    • Casey Jones
    • Merritt Tracy
    • Josh Schroeder
    • Thomas Pullen
    • Jonathan Peterson
• Other Competitors:
  • Chattanooga State Technical College, TN
  • Kennesaw State University, GA
  • Mercer University, GA
  • Northern Kentucky University, GA
  • Southern Polytechnic and State University, GA
  • University of Louisville, KY
  • University of North Carolina, Charlotte

2008

• Dates:
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA
• Winner: University of Louisville, KY
• Other Competitors:
  • Kennesaw State University, GA
  • Mercer University, GA
  • Southern Polytechnic and State University, GA
  • University of Alabama, Birmingham
  • University of Louisville, KY
  • University of North Carolina, Charlotte

2007

• Dates:
• Hosting Location: University of North Carolina, Charlotte
• Winner: University of Louisville, KY
• Other Competitors:
  • Kennesaw State University, GA
  • Mercer University, GA
  • Mississippi State University
  • Southern Polytechnic and State University, GA
  • University of Louisville, KY
  • University of North Carolina, Charlotte
  • University of North Carolina, Wilmington
  • University of South Carolina
  • University of South Florida

2006

• Dates:
• Hosting Location: KSU, Kennesaw GA
• Winner: University of North Carolina, Charlotte
• Other Competitors:
  • Chattahoochee State Technical College, GA
  • Kennesaw State University, GA
  • Southern Polytechnic and State University, GA
  • University of Alabama, Birmingham
  • University of Louisville, KY
  • University of North Carolina, Charlotte
  • University of South Florida

Rules

The competition is held using a set of SECCDC Board of Directors' approved rules.

Trivia

• In 2015, The University of Central Florida team set a new service record for maintain 92% up-time. The previous service record of 89% up-time was also set by the University of Central Florida team in 2013. UCF went on to retain their national championship title by winning the 2015 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition.
• In 2014, The University of Central Florida team advanced to win the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. This was the 2nd time that a team from the SECCDC region has won the National Competition.
• In 2013, the Fire Alarm on the final day caused the competition to end 1 hour early.
• In the year 2011, three new award categories were added to the SECCDC: Best in Business, Best in Defense, and Best in Service. That year the team from the University of Louisville took home all three of the awards.
• In 2011, A key logger that had been in use for 3 years on the windows machines was found by the University of Louisville team. They are the first to have done so.
• In 2006, The University of North Carolina Charlotte was the first team from the SECCDC to win 1st place National CCDC, which was also the first year the event was held with only 4 teams competing at Nationals.

External links

• General Information: http://seccdc.org/
• Competition Rules: http://seccdc.org/rules.html
• Bylaws: http://seccdc.org/Charter-Bylaws_SECCDC_031910.pdf

References

1. http://www.nationalccdc.org/
2. http://seccdc.org/
3. http://seccdc.org/Charter-Bylaws_SECCDC_031910.pdf
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20090415180234/http://infosec.kennesaw.edu/SECCDC/index.html