{"645765":{"#nid":"645765","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Students Extend Streak at Annual NSA Codebreaker Challenge ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech placed second in the 2020 National Security Agency\u0026rsquo;s Codebreaker Challenge and added\u0026nbsp;to the state of Georgia\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;number of\u0026nbsp;ranked\u0026nbsp;teams, eight of which placed in the top 100 for\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;competition last year.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0026nbsp;was\u0026nbsp;among 452 qualifying institutions and has been in the top three ever since the competition started in 2015.\u0026nbsp;The nationwide challenge\u0026nbsp;provides students with a hands-on opportunity to develop skills in reverse-engineering and low-level code analysis through realistic problem-solving.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The NSA\u0026nbsp;Codebreaker Challenge is a competitive venue to assure that what we are offering at\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;is practical, influential, and\u0026nbsp;builds the right skills\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;our students,\u0026rdquo; said\u0026nbsp;Taesoo\u0026nbsp;Kim, associate professor in\u0026nbsp;the School of\u0026nbsp;Computer\u0026nbsp;Science.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;All participating students learn what NSA considers important\u202fin terms of cybersecurity skill sets and how\u0026nbsp;to apply the practical\u0026nbsp;knowledge that they\u0026nbsp;learn\u0026nbsp;in the classroom,\u0026rdquo; said Kim, whose\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/omscs.gatech.edu\/cs-6265-information-security-lab\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EInformation Security Lab\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;includes the challenge as part of the course.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;competition, often likened to a game of capture the flag,\u0026nbsp;engages students in complex cyber challenges based on real-world scenarios.\u0026nbsp;A sampling from\u0026nbsp;recent\u0026nbsp;years:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EDisassemble\u0026nbsp;ransomware and break into a cryptocurrency ransom payment implementation to get victims\u0026#39; money back (2018)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EAccess\u0026nbsp;a secure mobile communications app being used by terrorists to plot an attack (2019)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EHack a\u0026nbsp;FitBit-like fitness tracker\u0026#39;s data to\u0026nbsp;locate\u0026nbsp;a kidnapped\u0026nbsp;journalist\u202f(2020). This latest challenge also required students\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;hack into video signals and take\u0026nbsp;down a network of surveillance drones to enable a rescue mission.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe challenge\u0026nbsp;this year\u0026nbsp;was divided into nine tasks over a 16-week period, each task increasing in difficulty.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EXuefeng\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;William\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Wang, a full-time software engineer in Boston and student in the Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity\u0026nbsp;program,\u0026nbsp;solved all but one of the tasks, the last few of which\u0026nbsp;were released\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;early\u0026nbsp;2021 while he was starting a new course\u0026nbsp;in his graduate program.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The NSA\u0026nbsp;challenge covered\u0026nbsp;so many things \u0026ndash;\u202fencryption, signal processing,\u0026nbsp;working with ARM-based technology,\u0026nbsp;assembly languages,\u0026nbsp;and more,\u0026rdquo; said Wang. \u0026ldquo;I easily spent more than 20 hours a week on\u0026nbsp;the tasks.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The experience in the course and the competition was\u0026nbsp;very rewarding\u0026nbsp;and after I was done,\u0026nbsp;reverse\u0026nbsp;engineering\u0026nbsp;was\u0026nbsp;not a mystery\u0026nbsp;anymore.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHaoran\u0026nbsp;Wang, who started as a MS in\u0026nbsp;cybersecurity\u0026nbsp;student and recently switched to the Ph.D. in\u0026nbsp;Computer\u0026nbsp;Science program, said the codebreaker challenge did a really\u0026nbsp;good job\u0026nbsp;of putting\u0026nbsp;students\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;a cybersecurity role where the stakes were high.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The last\u0026nbsp;task\u0026nbsp;I solved\u0026nbsp;had me tracking\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;victim with turn-by-turn directions in a city, trying to figure out where the journalist was\u0026nbsp;being\u0026nbsp;taken,\u0026rdquo; said Wang. \u0026ldquo;It was fun, but\u0026nbsp;not very easy\u0026nbsp;\u0026ndash;\u0026nbsp;I\u0026nbsp;got\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;do\u0026nbsp;a little bit of forensics\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;get information on\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;victim;\u0026nbsp;then when I tracked him,\u0026nbsp;there was\u0026nbsp;a good bit of\u0026nbsp;physics and math, like figuring out acceleration, speed of travel, direction changes\u0026nbsp;and so on,\u0026rdquo; she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;What we learn in courses\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;sometimes small and basic problems. This really helped me connect my\u0026nbsp;cybersecurity\u0026nbsp;learning to the real world.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s new School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u0026nbsp;(SCP)\u0026nbsp;developed\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/views\/NSACodebreakersChallenge2021\/Dashboard1?:language=en\u0026amp;:display_count=y\u0026amp;publish=yes\u0026amp;:origin=viz_share_link\u0026amp;:showVizHome=no\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Evisual\u0026nbsp;analysis\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;of top-performing teams\u0026nbsp;based on the leader scoreboard provided by the NSA. University of North Georgia and Georgia Tech took first and second place,\u0026nbsp;respectively, with Mercer University (#14) and Augusta University (#15) rounding out Georgia schools in the top 25.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s neighbor to the north, University of North Georgia,\u0026nbsp;has\u0026nbsp;also\u0026nbsp;been consistent in the\u0026nbsp;cybersecurity\u0026nbsp;challenge and is looking to continue raising the field\u0026rsquo;s profile in the state.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;As\u0026nbsp;National\u0026nbsp;Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, both UNG and Georgia Tech benefit from collaboration with other institutions in Georgia and across the country,\u0026rdquo; said\u0026nbsp;Bryson Payne, director of the Center for Cyber Operations Education at the University of North Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Part of being a CAE is sharing research and training opportunities with peer institutions, and the NSA Codebreaker Challenge is an excellent opportunity to get all 10 CAEs in the University System of Georgia\u0026nbsp;engaged and active in one of the most prestigious competitions in cyber operations.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESCP Chair\u0026nbsp;Richard\u0026nbsp;DeMillo\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;currently leading a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/2021\/03\/19\/chairs-message-a-statewide-initiative-in-cybersecurity-and-privacy-education\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Estatewide taskforce\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to advance a\u0026nbsp;strategy for Georgia\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;entire pipeline for cybersecurity\u0026nbsp;and privacy\u0026nbsp;education, including the CAE network.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe NSA\u0026rsquo;s Academic\u0026nbsp;Engagement\u0026nbsp;office will recognize students from the top\u0026nbsp;three\u0026nbsp;schools\u0026nbsp;in the codebreaker challenge\u0026nbsp;in a virtual celebration March 31.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech placed second in the 2020 National Security Agency\u2019s Codebreaker Challenge."}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2021-03-26 12:39:58","changed_gmt":"2021-03-26 12:42:57","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-03-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-03-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"645766":{"id":"645766","type":"image","title":"2020 NSA Codebreaker Challenge winners-GT Computing","body":null,"created":"1616762492","gmt_created":"2021-03-26 12:41:32","changed":"1616762492","gmt_changed":"2021-03-26 12:41:32","alt":"2020 NSA Codebreaker Challenge winners from GT Computing","file":{"fid":"245163","name":"Screen Shot 2021-03-26 at 8.39.42 AM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Screen%20Shot%202021-03-26%20at%208.39.42%20AM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Screen%20Shot%202021-03-26%20at%208.39.42%20AM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2644194,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Screen%20Shot%202021-03-26%20at%208.39.42%20AM.png?itok=3vAFDzt1"}}},"media_ids":["645766"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJoshua Preston,\u0026nbsp;Research Communications Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jpreston@cc.gatech.edu?subject=NSA%20Codebreaker%20Challenge\u0022\u003Ejpreston@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpreston@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}