Codebreaker Challenge

Computer users know security helps prevent hackers from stealing information and malware (harmful software) from destroying files. Protecting against digital attacks is so important that the National Security Agency (NSA) sponsors the Codebreaker Challenge to help train university students in Cybersecurity. Many Computer Science (CS) students at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro have joined—and shone—in recent years.

Students “help save the government” from a fictional attack on computer systems. Completing every step of the challenge requires tactics such as reverse engineering and blockchain exploit development. Developing these skills could help students get government or industry jobs in network security, which is growing in demand.

“Many employers look for these activities to show that students can accomplish tasks needed to defend real networks and systems,” says faculty advisor Lorie Liebrock, Director of Cybersecurity Centers and Professor of Computer Science & Engineering.

Tech students Jessica Rooney and Owen Parkins showed the challenge to the Computer Science classes during the fall 2018 semester. Many Tech students joined, and 59 completed the first task. As tasks got harder, students dropped out. Owen, Adam Merrill, and Luke Rindels were among only 20 students nationwide who completed all eight tasks.

“The NSA puts this challenge on as a recruiting effort, so they design the challenge to help students get the skills needed for jobs at the NSA and other agencies,” notes The CyberForce competition at Idaho National Laboratory in 2019. The team members are beginning in the left foreground to the back: Celia Pacheco, Brendan Wilson, Jessica Rooney, then from right back to the foreground: Armando Juarez, Kevin Helfert, and Adam Merrill. Photo by Lorie Liebrock, PhD, Director of Cybersecurity Centers Professor of Computer Science and Engineering.

Luke, now a CS graduate. “As a Scholarship for Service student, I have a service requirement with the federal government after graduation. Completing this challenge helped me develop skills and prove that I am motivated, capable of problem-solving, and have the necessary technical skills.”

When students complete stages of the challenge, the school gets points. The more difficult challenges earn more points. Tech finished fourth for the 2019 challenge. The top three schools each had at least 10 times the student enrollment of New Mexico Tech.

CS graduate Owen Parkins participated for four years. “The first competition I needed help on almost every task. The second competition I could do the basics but then didn’t have the knowledge nor the will to continue.” He finished all challenges his third and fourth times. “Doing the competition each year lets me accurately judge my progress with my education, inside and outside school. I will always have more to learn, but I know I can learn what I need to learn.”

Taking the challenge isn’t a class requirement—it’s entirely the student’s choice. Celia Maria Pacheco, a CS graduate student, says, “It was a great opportunity to learn more skills outside of the classroom as well as apply what I have already learned.”

Clearly, the students must be skilled and motivated, but the competition isn’t all hard work. CS Senior Shad Gudmunson calls it, “a great opportunity to hang out with friends to work together, to learn and to have fun while doing it.”

That fun is great training for future jobs. “While the

With everyone in the family using the internet to engage in social media, adjust the home thermostat or shop storyline of the challenge is fictitious, it is an example of addition to the technical expertise you develop, having for the latest connected toy, it is vital to make certain that the something that could come up in the real world,” says experience with in-depth technical research is extremely entire household — including children and older adults — learn Spencer Merrill, a Senior in Information Technology. “It valuable in any career where the problems you face are to use the internet safely and responsibility. allows you to think through problems as you would if difficult to understand or appear unsolvable.” you were in a career in cybersecurity.” Tech now has funding from the National Science

“It’s much more satisfying to solve those things in Foundation to support students in the Codebreaker Codebreaker’s realistic setting than in a lab-like environChallenge in the coming years. “Solving these chalment where the solutions tend to be very straightforlenges shows passion, autonomy, and mastery,” says ward,” adds CS graduate Adam. Dr. Liebrock. Or, as the National Security Agency says

Even students who don’t go into cybersecurity benefit of the Codebreaker Challenge, “Solve it, and you are from the Challenge. “Codebreaker forces you to research career-ready.” new topics, tools, and methods to understand and solve These young people may be protecting our computers, its increasingly difficult problems,” Adam says. “So in or our country, in the coming years.

HELP MAKE YOUR HOME A SAFE DIGITAL HAVEN BY PROTECTING NETWORKS, DEVICES AND ONLINE LIVES WITH THESE TIPS:

KEEP A CLEAN MACHINE Having the latest security software, web browser and operating system is the best defense against viruses, malware and other online threats. Remember, mobile phones and tablets need updating too!

LOCK DOWN YOUR LOGIN Usernames and passwords are not enough to protect key accounts like email, bank and social media. Improve account security by enabling strong authentication tools such as biometrics or unique one-time codes.

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