Bismarck, N.D. (FEB. 21, 2020) | North Dakota Chief Information Officer Shawn Riley, along with event partners, today announced a Capture the Flag cybersecurity competition to be held in conjunction with the Dakota Strike Career Expo on April 8 in Fargo. An esports competition will also be hosted by U.S. Army and U.S. Navy representatives. Event hosts also reminded students that a mobile app competition announced Feb. 7 is open for submissions until March 27. The mobile app competition has been expanded to include concepts as well as fully functional applications.
The Capture the Flag (CTF) competition is being hosted by NICERC, the National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center, in advance of Dakota Strike. Winning teams will receive micro:bit-enabled Parallax cyber:bots. The competition will run from noon CT Tuesday, March 24 until noon the following day. High school and college students in teams of no more than six are eligible to participate . NICERC will release a dozen challenges at noon March 24 with additional challenges issued during the 24-hour competition window. CTF participants are not required to attend Dakota Strike in order to receive prizes.
“NICERC is proud to sponsor the Capture the Flag event at Dakota Strike,” said Chuck Gardner, Director of Curriculum for NICERC. “CTFs are an excellent learning tool for anyone interested in cybersecurity and can help sharpen these valuable skills. This opportunity mirrors how professional cybersecurity practitioners work, making it an important part of security education.”
Schools are encouraged to register ahead of time and can also download promotional materials at the Dakota Strike website. The Expo is open to all jobseekers and students in grades 7 – 12 and college with a variety of sessions tailored to 10th and 11th grade students.
“This first-of-its-kind event is unprecedented in terms of bringing together dozens of private and public sector and military organizations to promote hundreds of exciting career opportunities across North Dakota,” said Riley. “These competitions highlight innovation and in-demand technology skills that open career doors in nearly all industries.”
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C O N T A C T :
Jecca Geffre
Public Information Officer
701.955.0304 • nditpio@nd.gov