Janine Frederick, a Monmouth University systems administrator and current computer science student minoring in cyber security, was chosen to receive a full scholarship to attend and represent the University at the U.S. Cyber Challenge Eastern Regional Cyber Camp held at Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus from June 10 to 14.
Frederick competed in Cyber Quest, an online information security competition, in April 2019 and ranked high enough out of all U.S. participants to receive the maximum scholarship amount to attend the cyber camp.
The camp consisted of four days of high-intensity, hands-on learning and round-table discussions. Training topics included cybersecurity program analysis, Windows memory forensics, web application penetration testing, and wireless packet crafting.
Various cyber security professionals were involved in the camp as presenters, special guests, and organizers, including the owner of CyberNinjas; instructors from SANS Institute; cyber security instructors from West Point; representatives from the International Information System Security Certification Consortium or (ISC)2, the Center for Internet Security, and the Department of Homeland Security; the chief information security officers of Virginia Tech and the Department of Justice; as well as the former chief information security officer of the National Guard.
Frederick said she was honored and humbled to have been given access to the level of knowledge and experience provided by the camp.
Of the 27 camp attendees, most were working as systems administrators or cyber security professionals and about half were also students in higher education. A handful of attendees were full-time college students and/or former military.
The U.S. Cyber Challenge is a national program supported by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate through a contract with the Center for Internet Security, home to the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) which serves as the key cyber security resource for state, local, territorial and tribal governments. Its mission is to significantly reduce the shortage in the cyber workforce by serving as the premier program to identify, attract, recruit and place the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.