University of Central Florida Becomes Winningest National Collegiate Cyber Defense Champion

  • 04/24/16

SAN ANTONIO, TX – The University of Central Florida defeated nine other finalist teams to win the 2016 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC), earning the title of National Champion for the third year in a row. The championship NCCDC competition was held in San Antonio, TX, April 22–24, with the top 10 college and university teams from across the nation facing off to protect a network against constant cyber attacks.

More than 180 colleges and universities participated in regional competitions that led to this year's national championship, which was sponsored by Raytheon.

“Congratulations to the three-time champion, University of Central Florida,” says David Wajsgras, president of Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services business. “As global networks face nearly constant attack, NCCDC is a perfect extension of Raytheon's global Cyber Academy initiative, helping to develop the next generation of cyber defenders.”

“Everyone recognizes we need to find and train more cyber professionals. Competitions absolutely help to meet that need,” says Dwayne Williams, director of the NCCDC.  “Across the nation, the competition gets harder and teams get better each year.”

Modeled from real-world scenarios, NCCDC was the first national cybersecurity competition designed to test how well college students operate and manage a network infrastructure similar to those found in the commercial sector. The competing teams used cutting-edge cybersecurity tools. Equipped with state-of-the-art security software, the students can see how threats are detected and defeated in the real world.

At the end of the competition, University of Central Florida earned the highest score and took home the coveted NCCDC Alamo Cup. This summer, Raytheon will bring the winning team to Washington, DC, to tour some of our nation's top research and national security cyber sites.

In addition to University of Central Florida 's top finish, Brigham Young University placed second, and DePaul University placed third. The 10 schools that competed at the championship were:

  • University of Alaska Anchorage, At Large Regional CCDC Winner
  • Liberty University, Mid-Atlantic Regional Winner
  • DePaul University, Mid-West Regional Winner
  • Dakota State University, North Central Regional Winner
  • Northeastern University, Northeast Regional Winner
  • Columbia Basin College, Pacific Rim Regional Winner
  • Brigham Young University, Rocky Mountain Regional Winner
  • University of Central Florida, Southeast Regional Winner
  • University of Tulsa, Southwest Regional Winner
  • Cal Poly Pomona, Western Regional CCDC Winner

Sponsors of NCCDC include government agencies, colleges and commercial companies. Raytheon was the title sponsor. Other sponsors included:

  • Platinum sponsors: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Science and Technology, Accenture and Walmart
  • Program sponsors: National Security Agency, 780th Military Cyber Brigade, the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and the University of Washington Bothell
  • Gold sponsors: Boeing, Facebook, FireEye and Uber
  • Silver sponsors: Amazon, Hershey's and Palo Alto Networks
  • Other sponsors: The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), 12-Sided Technologies, No Starch Press, G-C Partners, Lares Consulting, Microsoft and Kyrus

About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2015 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I™ products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, MA.

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