MATC student team wins cyber defense contest

Madison, Wis.- Who says Wisconsin college students are no longer interested in technology careers?

A team of information technology students from Madison Area Technical College has won first place in the first round of the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, beating four teams from Minnesota, and later advanced to a Midwest regional competition in Illinois, where they took third place.

The competitions were open to students from two-year colleges and four-year universities enrolled in information-assurance or computer-security programs. They competed in a controlled environment designed to simulate real-world challenges in protecting network infrastructure and business information systems.

Ken McCullough, lead instructor for MATC's information technology department, said the proliferation of viruses, spyware, worms, and a hacker intrusions has fueled a growing need for trained IT security professionals. He called it an attractive field where average annual salary ranges from $49,000 to $70,000, with a local average wage of $33.50 per hour.

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