Congratulations to Baker College on winning the third National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition! Once again we had a superb field of competitors and the competition through the weekend was spirited and intense. By focusing on the fundamentals, the Baker College team was able to grab and maintain the lead going into the third day while fending off another superb team from the 2007 Champions Texas A&M. We'd like to thank the teams, coaches, sponsors, and volunteers for all their hard work and for making the third NCCDC a success.

We would also like to extend a sincere thank you to Congressman Ciro Rodriguez and Cornelius Tate, head of the National Cyber Security Division (DHS), for providing the keynote addresses for this year's awards luncheon.

You have just been hired as the network and security administrators at a small company and will be taking administrative control of all information systems. You know very little about the network, what security level has been maintained, or what software has been installed. You have one hour to familiarize yourself with the network and systems and to begin the security updates and patches before the red team starts actively attacking your company. In the midst of all the commotion, you have to keep up with the needs of the business and user demands while maintaining service level agreements for all critical Internet services. Welcome to the first day of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC).

CCDC is a three day event and the first competition that specifically focuses on the operational aspect of managing and protecting an existing “commercial” network infrastructure. Not only do students get a chance to test their knowledge in an operational environment, they will also get a chance to network with industry professionals who are always on the look out for up and coming engineers.  CCDC provides a unique opportunity for students and industry professionals to interact and discuss many of the security and operational challenges the students will soon face as they enter the job market.