1. United States Cybersecurity Magazine0
Identifying, hiring and retaining cyber specialists is
becoming increasingly competitive in today’s marketplace.
Corporations, government, and other organizations
are actively seeking skilled information technologists
with cybersecurity specialties such as intelligence
analysis and identification, forensics, and fusion. In
fact, more than 26,980 cybersecurity-related positions
were open in April 2015 on the popular job-seeking
website SimplyHired.com. Those seeking cyber job
opportunities are still finding it challenging to integrate
their operational skills with the strategic threat and cyber
analysis skills typically gained through hands-on training.
Lockheed Martin and Temple University’s Institute for
Business and Information Technology (IBIT) partnered to
combat this cyber talent crisis by hosting the first National
Cyber Analyst Challenge. The challenge was designed to
encourage and support the highest-performing students
currently pursuing cyber-related degrees in the nation’s top
cyber programs via a three-phase competition.
STARTING EARLY
The nation’s military academies have been conducting
simulation games for years known as Cyber Defense
Exercises (CDX).
The Cyber Defense Exercises (CDX) conducted by the
nation’s military academies inspired Chris Kearns, teaching
as an adjunct professor at Temple University, to develop
the National Cyber Analyst Challenge. By day, Kearns is
the vice president of Enterprise IT Solutions at Lockheed
SPECIALIZED
TALENT:National
Cyber Analyst Challenge
Focuses on Recruiting
University Students
Martin, and he knows all too well how challenging it is to
not only attract talented cyber professionals, but to retain
them in in these critical roles.
“Our programs and our customers have a significant
need for students to enter the workforce with not only
the technical cyber skills but the analysis mindset that a
competition like this will foster,” he said. “We are thrilled
to partner with our nation’s top universities to invest in the
future workforce.”
One of Kearns’ key strategies at Lockheed Martin is
to rotate his cybersecurity talent pool early and often.
“We want them to get a broad range of experiences so
they’re exposed to all aspects of the career,” he said. “It
also helps them to better understand what areas they
really want to focus on or specialize in as they grow their
career.” By exposing the cyber specialists to numerous
opportunities, they gain more hands-on knowledge,
broaden their understanding from customer to industry
mindsets, and begin to identify the track areas on which
they will focus during their career.
THE CHALLENGE
The three-phase competition began this August. Each
team was first analyzed based on their proposed solutions
to a realistic cyber-facing scenario, such as a government
agency contacting a business seeking information related
to a cyber-attack. Lockheed Martin’s team of cyber experts
will be evaluating the solutions from the universities.
Chris Kearns
Vice President of Enterprise IT Solutions
Lockheed Martin
2. Fall 2015 | www.uscybersecurity.net 0
Kearns explained that seven universities
will be invited to continue through the
second phase of the competition, which
includes virtual training and hands-on
learning from some of Lockheed Martin’s
cybersecurity experts, and mentors that
are assigned to support the students
through the duration of their projects. The
training features an intelligence-driven
defense and Lockheed Martin’s Cyber Kill
Chain®, a seven-step process focused on
remediating and mitigating advanced persistent threats.
The finals, held at the Lockheed Martin Global Vision
Center in Crystal City, Virginia, in early November, include
a real-time practical challenge involving a cyberattack
on an enterprise architecture. The students will also be
invited to a special reception the night before the third
phase of the competition. “This provides them with a
great networking opportunity with one another, as well as
a chance to explore some of the innovations on display at
Lockheed Martin,” Kearns said.
The event will conclude by recognizing the winning team
of students with a $25,000 prize for their outstanding
achievement.
Much of the competition runs through October, National
Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This challenge is just
one of numerous ongoing university outreach activities
that address the need for recruiting and encourage
the development of the appropriate talent for science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
THE STUDENTS
Schools with appropriate programs were invited to field a
team of top students from their undergraduate or master’s
programs such as information systems, computer science,
or engineering. The schools in this year’s competition
include Carnegie Mellon University, Howard University,
Iowa State University, Penn State University, Temple
University, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University
of Arizona, University of Central Florida, University of
Maryland, University of New Hampshire, and Western
Washington University.
The participating students have been actively
communicating about the challenge via a dedicated forum.
One student commented that Phase One “was a very fun
and rewarding challenge—we had trouble initially setting
up a good working environment and finding the correct
tools to analyze the data.” He noted that “the amount
of data given was intimidating because our team did not
have as much experience as some other teams in this
arena. Once we got our ideas on a whiteboard and started
analyzing the data, the process became a lot more fluid.”
The competition will enhance the skills of students while
inspiring them to pursue careers in the field. Students
will receive fast-paced, real world practical experience,
scholarships, mentorship, recognition, and the opportunity
to engage with others who share their interests.
“This competition is unique because it focuses on
student development from the start and will serve as a
role model for how to develop talent by engaging with
industry in a systematic and sustained manner,” said Laurel
Miller, assistant professor in the Fox School of Business’s
Management Information Systems department, and IBIT
director at Temple University.
THE COMPETITION WILL ENHANCE
THE SKILLS OF STUDENTS WHILE
INSPIRING THEM TO PURSUE
CAREERS IN THE FIELD.
About the Contributor:
Chris Kearns is Vice President of Enterprise
Information Technology Solutions within Lockheed
Martin’s Information Systems and Global Solutions,
where he is responsible for leading the information
technology business serving U.S. Department of
Defense customers. These programs include the
operation and cyber defense of critical national infrastructure, and
the management of private data centers and high performance
computing laboratories. In 2015, he was recognized as one of
Federal Computing Week’s Top 100 Executives.
For more information about the National Cyber Analyst Challenge,
visit http://cyberanalystchallenge.org.
