PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College will send a team of students to compete in this weekend’s Pacific Rim Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition at Highline Community College in Des Moines.
It’s the first time the college has sent a team to the contest.
On Saturday and Sunday, 15 teams from around the Pacific Northwest will defend an assigned network and its computers while attackers try to disrupt and hack into each team’s computers.
Competing schools include Western Washington University, University of Washington and Idaho State University.
The winner will move on to the national Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in San Antonio on April 4.
There, students from four-year, two-year and technical schools will compete for the championship.
“We are extremely proud to represent Peninsula College, for the first time, at any cyberdefense competition and are ready to represent the entire Peninsula when we battle some of the national collegiate cyberdefense elite,” said Eric Waterkotte, Peninsula College cybersecurity and computer forensics program coordinator and faculty, and adviser to the team.
The campus program aims to help fill the national and international demand for information security and digital forensics experts.
During the two-day event, students play the role of “good guy,” while a team of attackers from industry and government sponsors try to take down each team.
The competition environment is meant to simulate real-world attacks on networks and systems.
The team consists of eight students who are in their second year of studies at Peninsula College.
Students interested in joining next year’s team are encouraged to contact Eric Waterkotte at ewaterkotte@pencol.edu.