UMBC Cyber Dawgs win Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition

Last weekend, the UMBC Cyber Dawgs took first place in the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (MACCDC), which was held virtually. UMBC’s team was one of eight that participated in the competition, fighting to protect their networks efficiently and effectively from simulated cyber threats and attacks. The team topped Penn State; the University of Maryland, College Park; and University of Virginia, which won the national championship for the past two years.

UMBC’s Cyber Dawgs will move on to compete in the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC). Due to COVID-19, the competition will be held remotely this year.

How does the competition work?

These regional and national competitions attract leading collegiate cybersecurity teams from across the nation. They put teams in situations that mimic scenarios they might encounter working to secure and protect online systems for government agencies and companies. Throughout each challenge, teammates work together to protect their systems from hackers and cyber attacks. At the same time, they keep their networks accessible to the users relying on them. 

Meet the team

The MACCDC was about 14 hours long, and was held over two days. During the competition, the teams were not permitted to interact with their coaches Charles Nicholas, professor of computer science and electrical engineering (CSEE), and Rick Forno, senior lecturer in CSEE.

The winning UMBC team included Anna Staats ‘20, computer science; RJ Joyce ‘18, M.S. ‘20, computer science; Cyrus Bonyadi, Ph.D. ‘23, computer science; Drew Barrett ‘20, computer science; Seamus Burke ‘20, computer science; Henry Budris ‘22, computer science; Chris Skane ‘21, computer science; and Nikola Bura ‘21, computer science. 

“We are so proud of our team, and their ability to work together as a team under such extraordinary conditions,” says Nicholas.

This is the third time in six years that the Cyber Dawgs have won the MACCDC. The UMBC team won the national championship in 2017.

Adapted from a UMBC News article by Megan Hanks. Banner image: Student using a computer. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

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UMBC Cyber Dawgs place first in
15th Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition

Congratulations to the UMBC Cyber Dawgs for winning the 15th Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (MACCDC) which was held this Friday and Saturday. UMBC placed first in a field of teams from eight Universities who made the regional finals out of an initial set of 27 qualifying teams. By winning the regional competition, UMBC will represent the Mid-Atlantic states in the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition to be held on May 22-24, 2020.

The MACCDC has been held annually since 2006. Each year, it develops a new realistic challenge using the latest technologies currently in use. This year’s scenario involves student teams working for a fictitious Artificially Intelligent Institute (AII), a multinational corporation with offices in the Mid-Atlantic region. It was described as follows.

“As a leading provider of advanced AI surveillance tools to intelligence and law enforcement agencies, as well as private-sector organizations, the main business driver of AII is to show how new surveillance capabilities are transforming government’s and organization’s monitoring capabilities. As part of their duties, Blue Teams are expected to defend their systems against aggressors. Early intelligence reports suggest that rouge Hackistanian antagonist are interested in stealing AII’s intellectual property, source code, and customer database. Hackers contracted and working directly for the country of Hackistan are also interested in disrupting IoT devices on-premises at the various AII regional offices.”

The MACCDC team was chosen from members of the CyberDawgs student group, composed of students from a variety of majors who share a common interest in computer and network security. No prior experience is required to join and any UMBC students who want to learn more about cybersecurity and learn new skills in the field are encouraged to subscribe to its mailing list and attend meetings.

The CyberDawgs group is advised by CSEE faculty Charles Nicholas and Richard Forno.

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JHU/APL CIRCUIT internship program information session

3:00-4:00 pm Friday, 31 January 2020

ITE 459, UMBC

There will be a special information session on the JHU/APL CIRCUIT internship program from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm on Friday, 31 January 2020 in room ITE 459.

This session is for undergraduates who want to spend their summer (June through August) getting paid to do mentored research at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. The research areas include AI, data science, cybersecurity, precision medicine, and planetary exploration.

Interns selected for the program will do mission-oriented research on-site at JHU/APL in Laurel MD mentored by STEM professionals. There will also be year-round opportunities for engagement and enrichment. The selection for an internship will be based on a combination of potential, need and commitment.

Email *protected email* or *protected email* with questions.

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UMBC Cyber Dawgs are named CyberForce national champions

UMBC’s Cyber Defense Team, known as the Cyber Dawgs, has emerged the national champion team in the U.S. Department of Energy’s fifth annual CyberForce Competition. The Cyber Dawgs earned first place overall out of more than 100 teams from universities across the country.

Ten national laboratories hosted competing teams this year, November 15 – 16. UMBC competed at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, Illinois, while other teams traveled to sites like the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Competing teams hailed from a broad range of institutions, including Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The competition tasks students with defending critical energy infrastructure during simulated cyberattacks. The scenarios are designed to be realistic, focused on water and power systems and including real-world constraints, such as insufficient budget for system upkeep and limited information on system needs. During the competition, “red teams,” including industry professionals, attack the system, while the students work to ensure that the infrastructure is available to their customers, or “green teams,” who test system usability.

The teams receive points based on how successfully they address attacks, while still allowing users to access the infrastructure they need. The teams are also awarded points for innovative defense tactics and ideas. This year’s competition saw several leading teams with neck-and-neck scores until the final round, when UMBC’s Cyber Dawgs pulled ahead for the victory.

The competition offers students a unique opportunity to develop their cybersecurity skills in relation to critical infrastructure, and have hands-on experience in a realistic cyberattack situation.

“The CyberForce competition is the most unique of our annual events, allowing us to experiment with network configurations to defend an industrial control system against adversaries while playing the roles of an IT organization,” explains RJ Joyce ’18, M.S. ’20, computer science, a member of the winning team. “The hard work, dedication, and creativity that each member brought to the team lifted us from a regional win last year to a national win this year.”

In addition to Joyce, last weekend’s winning team included Anna Staats ’20, computer science; Drew Barrett ’20, computer science; Grant Spencer ’20, computer science; Cyrus Bonyadi, Ph.D. ’23, computer science; and Seamus Burke ’20, computer science.

“The team’s second national championship in three years shows the enthusiasm, grit, and tenacity of our students in demonstrating their technical cyber expertise in a competitive arena,” says Rick Forno, senior lecturer of computer science and assistant director of UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity.

Forno advises the Cyber Dawgs with Charles Nicholas, professor of computer science and electrical engineering. “It’s an awesome thing not just for the team and university,” he says, “but for each competitor individually, as they prepare to enter the cybersecurity workforce after graduation.”

UMBC students have a strong record in state and national competition. In 2018, UMBC computer science and information systems students won the top prize at the Maryland Cyber Challenge. A year earlier, the UMBC Cyber Dawgs won the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition.

Adapted from a UMBC News article by Megan Hanks.

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Cyberdawgs place first out of 105 teams in DOE’s 5th CyberForce Competition

Congratulations to the UMBC CyberDawgs team for their first place finish in a field of 105 collegiate teams in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fifth Annual CyberForce Competition. The distributed event was held at ten of the DOE’s National Laboratories and challenged 105 teams to defend a simulated energy infrastructure from cyber-attacks.

The took place on November 15 and 16 with the goal of bolstering the U.S. cybersecurity workforce by extending skill-building opportunities for students, offering memorable hands-on experiences and highlighting the crucial role this field plays in preserving national energy security. The Cyberdawgs participated at the Argonne National Laboratory site in Illinois.

During the competition, teams competed to defend their simulated infrastructure from attacks by adversarial ​“red teams” composed of industry professionals, all while maintaining service for their ​“green team” customers, played by volunteers. The scenarios included simulated industrial control system components, real-world anomalies and constraints, and interaction with users of the systems.

Teams were scored on their success in protecting the infrastructure against attacks while ensuring the usability of the system, with additional points awarded for innovative ideas and defenses.

The team that competed in this year’s competition was chosen from members of the CyberDawgs student group, composed of students from a variety of majors who share a common interest in computer and network security. No prior experience is required to join and any UMBC students who want to learn more about cybersecurity and learn new skills in the field are encouraged to subscribe to its mailing list and attend meetings.

The CyberDawgs group is advised by CSEE faculty Charles Nicholas and Richard Forno.

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SFS cyberdefense scholarship applications due Noon Monday, April 15

The next application deadline for SFS cyberdefense scholarships at UMBC is 12:00 noon Monday, 15 April 2019, for possible scholarships beginning in the fall of 2019. See the Center for Information Security and Assurance site for details and application forms.

These major scholarships include tuition, generous stipend, and more, in return for government employment. Applicants must have at least junior status in fall 2019. BS, MS, MPS, PhD in any cyber-related field may apply (CS, CE, EE, IS, Cyber, and possibly others). SFS applicants must be citizens or lawful permanent residents capable of obtaining a secret clearance at federal, state, local, or tribal government. The annual stipends are $25,000 undergraduate and $34,000 graduate; in addition, each scholar will receive $6000 per year in professional development funds.

The scholarships are highly competitive (e.g., the median GPA of current SFS scholars at UMBC is 3.8) and favor students who have excelled in upper-level technical courses and who have demonstrated a passion and talent for cybersecurity through relevant accomplishments. We will consider applications from rising juniors and above with GPA over 3.0. All SFS scholars at UMBC are expected to engage in cohort and research activities. UMBC is in the first year of a five -year, $5 million NSF grant, which will support 34 students. For more information, see the SFS FAQ page.

Interested students should contact

Dr. Alan T. Sherman
Professor of Computer Science
Director, UMBC Center for Information Security and Assurance (CISA)
*protected email*

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Busy teams of students clustered around laptops in a room overlooking Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on Tuesday, focused on solving as many challenges as possible during a “capture-the-flag” style competition. After hours of intense competition in cyberspace, UMBC’s team emerged victorious, named champions of the college division of the 2018 Maryland Cyber Challenge.

Started in 2011, the competition is part of the annual CyberMaryland Conference. UMBC’s team included Niara Richards ‘22, computer science; Nithya Prakash ‘22, information systems; Josh Mpere ‘19, computer science; Seamus Burke ‘20 computer science; and Swathi Krithivasan ‘22, computer science. They worked together to test their skills in a series of real-world cybersecurity challenges over the course of two virtual qualifying rounds and then the final competition, beating talented teams from the U.S. Air Force Academy and University of Maryland, University College.

“It was my first time competing in the Maryland Cyber Challenge, although I have a pretty extensive competition background,” said Burke. “I am especially proud of my freshman teammates who put in a ton of effort, solved challenges, and didn’t get discouraged when the challenges got more difficult.”

Burke is a Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) Scholar and Mpere is a Cyber affiliate. Richards, Prakash, and Krithivasan all participate in UMBC’s Cyber Scholars Program, which works to prepare the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.

All five members of the winning team will receive a monetary award and an offer to complete a summer internship to continue growing their experience and skills. Additionally, the university will receive new technologies (including software) to support more UMBC students in developing their cybersecurity skills.

“The competition was a fantastic experience and gave me a lot of exposure into topics that I otherwise would not have gained, especially as a freshman,” said Krithivasan. “We had a mix of both upper and underclassmen on our team, which really enabled us to learn and grow from working with each other.”

Adapted from a UMBC News article by Megan Hanks. Banner image: Nithya Prakash, Swathi Krithivasan, and Josh Mpere being recognized at the award ceremony. Photo by Mike Lackner, computer science and informatics, and technology instructor at Loyola Blakefield High School.

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The UMBC Cyber Defense Lab presents

Results from the January 2018 SFS Research Study at UMBC

Enis Golaszewski, CSEE, UMBC

12:00-1:00pm Friday, 12 October 2018, ITE 227

January 22-26, 2018, UMBC SFS scholars worked collaboratively to analyze the security of a targeted aspect of the UMBC computer system. The focus of this year’s study was the WebAdmin module that enables users to perform various functions on their accounts, including changing the password. Students identified vulnerabilities involving failure to sanitize user input properly and suggested mitigations. Participants comprised BS, MS, MPS, and PhD students studying computer science, computer engineering, information systems, and cybersecurity, including SFS scholars who transferred from Montgomery College (MC) and Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) to complete their four-year degrees at UMBC. We hope that other universities can benefit from our motivational and educational strategy of cooperating with the university’s IT staff to engage students in active project-based learning centering on focused questions about the university computer system.

Enis Golaszewski is a PhD student and SFS scholar in computer science working with Dr. Sherman on blockchain, protocol analysis, and the security of software-defined networks.

This project was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under SFS grant 1241576.

Host: Alan T. Sherman, *protected email*

The UMBC Cyber Defense Lab meets biweekly Fridays. All meetings are open to the public.

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Get hands-on cybersecurity and blockchain skills in NSA’s Codebreaker Challenge

NSA’s sixth annual Codebreaker Challenge is a hands-on, cybersecurity engineering challenge in which students work to complete mission-focused objectives and push their university to the top of the competition leaderboard.

The 2018 scenario involves ransomware and blockchain. A new strain of ransomware has managed to penetrate several critical government networks and NSA has been called upon to assist in remediating the infection to prevent massive data losses. For each infected machine, an encrypted copy of the key needed to decrypt the ransomed files has been stored in a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain and is set to only be unlocked upon receipt of the ransom payment. Your mission is to ultimately (1) find a way to unlock the ransomware without giving in to the attacker’s demands and (2) figure out a way to recover all of the funds already paid by other victims. Are YOU up to the challenge?

UMBC students did well, both individually and as a group, in previous challenges.  Let’s make it to the top of the leaderboard this year.

• The challenge is hosted at https://codebreaker.Ltsnet.net
• The challenge end on December 31st
• Students register for the challenge at2017 Codebreaker Challenge using their umbc.edu email addresses
• The challenge website has nine lectures on reverse engineering, so students with little coding or cybersecurity experience can participate

Feedback from previous iterations of the challenge showed that students were able to learn a great deal from participating. Each student receives a slightly different set of challenge binaries and associated files, so that one student’s solution won’t work for someone else. The binaries are similar enough so that students can work together to understand the problems and develop approaches to solutions and hen implement them independently and register their results.

The 2018 challenge consists of a series of tasks that are worth a varying amount of points based upon their difficulty. In previous years, tasks had to be solved in order to unlock the next task and rankings were based upon the quantity of solvers that progressed the furthest from each school. This way of ranking heavily weighted progression above participation and did not allow for skipping ahead if a particular task became a stumbling block. So to address these issues, all tasks will be available immediately upon registration and can be solved in any order. The point value associated with each task is based on relative difficulty and schools will be ranked according to total number of points accumulated by their students. It is still recommended to solve tasks in order since the tasks flow with the storyline, but that is no longer a requirement.

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UMBC receives $5.4m in funding for new cybersecurity projects

NSF and NSA Fund Three Cybersecurity Projects by Prof. Alan Sherman 

Professor Alan Sherman and colleagues were recently awarded more than $5.4 million dollars in three new grants to support cybersecurity research and education at UMBC, including two from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and one from the National Security Agency (NSA).  Dr. Sherman leads UMBC’s Center for Information Security and Assurance which was responsible for UMBC’s designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Research and Education.

This summer, NSF funded Sherman’s second CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) grant (Richard Forno, CoPI) that will fund 34 cybersecurity scholars over five years and support research at UMBC and in the Cyber Defense Lab (CDL). The $5 million award supports scholarships for BS, MS, MPS, and PhD students to study cybersecurity through UMBC degree programs in computer science, computer engineering, cyber, or information systems. SFS scholars receive tuition, books, health benefits, professional expenses, and an annual stipend ($22,500 for undergraduates, $34,000 for graduate students). In return, each scholar must engage in a summer internship and work for government (federal, state, local, or tribal) for one year for each year of support. The program is highly competitive and many of the graduates now work for the NSA.

A novel aspect of UMBC’s SFS program is that it builds connections with two nearby community colleges—Montgomery College (MC) and Prince Georges Community College (PGCC). Each year, one student from each of these schools is selected for a scholarship. Upon graduation from community college, the student transfers to UMBC to complete their four-year degree. In doing so, UMBC taps into a significant pool of talent and increases the number of cybersecurity professionals who will enter government service. Each January, all SFS scholars from UMBC, MC, and PGCC engage in a one-week research study. Working collaboratively, they analyze a targeted aspect of the security of the UMBC computer system. The students enjoy the hands-on experience while helping to improve UMBC’s computer security. Students interested in applying for an SFS scholarship should consult the CISA SFS page and contact Professor Sherman. The next application deadline is November 15.

With $310,000 of support from NSF, Sherman and his CoPIs, Drs. Dhananjay Phatak and Linda Oliva, are developing educational Cybersecurity Assessment Tools (CATS) to measure student understanding of cybersecurity concepts. In particular, they are developing and validating two concept inventories: one for any first course in cybersecurity, and one for college graduates beginning a career in cybersecurity. These inventories will provide science-based criteria by which different approaches to cybersecurity education can be assessed (e.g., competition, gaming, hands-on exercises, and traditional classroom). This project is collaborative with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

With $97,000 of support from NSA, Sherman is developing a virtual Protocol Analysis Lab that uses state-of-the-art tools to analyze cryptographic protocols for structural weaknesses. Protocols are the structured communications that take place when computers interact with each other, as for example happens when a browser visits a web page. Experience has shown that protocols are so complicated to analyze that there is tremendous value in studying them using formal methods. Sherman and his graduate students are making it easier to use existing tools including CPSA, Maude NPA, and Tamerin, applying them to analyze particular protocols, and developing associated educational materials.

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