Wisconsin Rapids firm will challenge student security skills

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. — Cyber Defense Agency, an information security consulting firm headquartered here with offices in several other states, said it has been chosen to challenge eight student teams in an Illinois security contest.

"Cyber attacks are increasing in complexity and sophistication, so it's essential to support collegiate cyber competitions that will help create the next generation of cyber defenders," said Sami Saydjari, president and founder of the company, in a press release.

The student teams will attempt to keep hypothetical company networks secure against continued attacks by the "Red Team," which Cyber Defense Agency will assemble and manage. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is holding the contest, called the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, this weekend.

Each team will start off with an identical computer configuration to defend against attacks from outside as well as challenges related to internal business activities.