RU to host finalists of the RUSecure 2018 CTF Contest

Finalists of the annual RUSecure 2018 Capture the Flag Contest will visit Radford University on April 28 for the challenge’s final round.

Sponsored by Radford University’s Department of Information Technology and Center for Information Safety and Security, the contest attracted a record of more than 500 students from across the continental United States, as far-reaching as California. About 300 students participated in this spring’s qualifying round, which was entirely online. It included challenges in the topics of the anatomy of an attack, an introduction to networking, cryptography, forensics, web security and Windows/Linux security.

Radford University has sponsored the contest since 2014, when just 36 students participated.

On April 28, the top six teams, representing schools in Maryland and Virginia, will compete in a variety of activities, including an Internet of Things (IoT) hacking event.

IoT is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators and connectivity which enables these objects to connect and exchange data.

“We are setting up an experimental IoT network that students will hack into as part of the contest,” explained Radford University Professor Prem Uppuluri, who is co-hosting the contest with Professor Joe Chase. “We will have temperature sensors, motion detectors and other such ‘smart stuff.’”

Scholarships will be offered to all RUSecure finalists based upon placement in the contest. Events are scheduled to kick off at 8 a.m.