3GSE '14 - Class Capture-the-Flag Exercises

Class Capture-the-Flag Exercises

Jelena Mirkovic and Peter A. H. Peterson, USC/Information Sciences Institute

The field of cybersecurity is adversarial—the real challenge lies in outsmarting motivated and knowledgeable human attackers. Sadly, this aspect is missing from current cybersecurity classes, which are often taught through lectures and occasionally through "get your feet wet" practical exercises. We propose Class Capture-the-Flag exercises (CCTFs) to revitalize cybersecurity education. These are small-scoped competitions that pit teams of students against each other in realistic attackdefense scenarios. We …

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