Engaging Novices in Cybersecurity Competitions: A Vision and Lessons Learned at ACM Tapia 2015
Jelena Mirković, Aimee Tabor, Simon S. Woo, Portia Pusey · 2015
Cybersecurity competitions are popular tools for attract-ing students to cybersecurity field. Yet, many competi-tions require extensive preparation, strong coding skills and solid background knowledge, not just in security, but also in system administration, networking and operating systems. As such, competitions may discourage novices that lack in one of these required areas. In this paper we discuss our experience in using Class Capture-the-Flag Exercises (CCTFs) to bridge this gap in classes, and in 2015 ACM Richard Tapia Security workshop. We recount lessons learned and map a way forward, to-wards collaborative, more structured cybersecurity com-petitions that better support and engage novices, and of-fer a positive learning experience to all. 1