Spokane Falls Community College will be hosting the second annual Spokane Mayor’s Cup cybersecurity hack-a-thon competition from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, February 8 on the SFCC campus. The free, day-long competition is open to all regional high school and college students, covering a broad range of topics suitable for students with computer skill levels ranging from beginner to full-on expert. The event also is open to members of the public, who are invited to observe the competition and industry presentations.
While the event will include networking among students and industry professionals, the main draw is the “capture-the-flag” style hacking competition, which pits student teams against one another, as both attempt to attack and defend against hacking efforts. Last year’s competition was held at Gonzaga University, wherein a team of Gonzaga students won first place. Overall, 60 students attended from nine area schools.
“A regional competition helps create interest in a high demand career field,” said Brady Nielsen, a computer science and information systems instructor at SFCC, and one of the event organizers. “Students have fun, get exposure to cybersecurity and meet other students in the region.”
Spokane Falls Community College was recently recognized by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education. This official designation recognizes SFCC's cyber defense programs as meeting and exceeding program criteria aimed at serving the nation in contributing to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure.
Hack-a-thon event spaces include Spokane Falls Community College buildings 17 (Student Union Building), 30 (Falls Gateway Building) and 18 (Computing and Math). Registered teams must check-in between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. in the Student Union Building (SUB) lounges.
Teams can register at: https://spokanemayorscup2020.eventbrite.com.
For more information, contact Brady Nielsen at brady.nielsen@sfcc.spokane.edu, or Jonathan Glover at jonathan.glover@ccs.spokane.edu, or 206-498-3085.