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1 Sponsorship Packet

2 On behalf of The Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) I would like to invite you to participate through sponsorship at our second National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC), taking place at the Hilton Airport San Antonio, TX from April 13-15, Executive Summary The CCDC is a three day competition that focuses on the operational aspect of managing and protecting an existing network infrastructure. While other exercises examine the abilities of a group of students to design, configure, and protect a network, the CCDC provides students with a fully functional business network and requires them to secure, manage, and maintain that network while responding to the needs of the business during 24 hours of competition time. The CCDC provides college students with a unique learning experience and the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with systems that they may not have otherwise been exposed to. Companies have the opportunity to meet and interact with leading students specializing in computer security from a variety of institutions around the US. Time is provided during the competition for recruitment and networking, which is mutually beneficial to both the students and sponsors alike. The CCDC also provides the opportunity for companies to generate interest for products and services among the next generation of security professionals. History As a result of a National Science Foundation Grant obtained by two professors from George Washington University and the US Military Academy, a group of educators, students, and government and industry representatives gathered in San Antonio, Texas February 27-28, The purpose of the gathering was to discuss the possibility of establishing regular collegiate cyber security exercises or competitions. The Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC ) concept emerged when the CIAS stepped up to the challenge of establishing a competition and volunteered to host the first event for the Southwestern region in This initial effort became the model for the regional and national competitions in 2006 and the upcoming competitions in Mission and Goals The initial concept meetings in 2004 developed three goals for the collegiate competition program: 1. Provide a template from which any educational institution can build a cyber security exercise 2. Provide enough structure to allow for competition among schools, regardless of size or resources 3. Motivate more educational institutions to offer students an opportunity to gain practical experience in information assurance Using these goals as a guideline, the CIAS created a competition focused on providing the most realistic experience possible for the competitors. Since the event at its core is a competition, much effort was focused on issues such as ensuring a level playing field for all competitors to eliminate possible advantages due to hardware and bandwidth differences, establishing a clear set of rules, implementing a fair and impartial scoring system, and addressing possible legal concerns with hosting such an event. In addition to meeting these goals, the vision for the competition includes the continued growth of the CCDC program to include up to ten regional competitions and the national event in 2007, and expanding to include an international competition and separate, individual events in The individual events introduce new security disciplines to the competition such as computer forensics. Along with the expansion of the competition, the CIAS anticipates growth in the media, press, and marketing components of the CCDC, with a goal of reaching an international audience.

3 Challenges There are quite a few challenges associated with developing and hosting a competition of this nature. Chief among these are the availability of funding, volunteer staffing, and acquisition of equipment (hardware and software). The CIAS relies heavily on sponsorships to alleviate the costs of items such as travel, hotel, food and beverages, equipment, hardware and software, facilities, and the other costs associated with conducting the competition. It takes a significant amount of time and a large number of people to plan, prepare for, and host a competition of this size and complexity. Systems must be installed, configured, and tested for each team, the scenario with all of its injects must be written, and a fictitious company with its IT infrastructure has to be created complete with user accounts, files, and support systems. As the competition expands, these challenges will grow as well. Sponsorships Sponsorships must expand if we are to reach our goal of making the CCDC an international competition. The CIAS needs assistance in obtaining funding, hardware, software, volunteers, and marketing items/gifts for the competitors. We are reaching out to companies in the following categories: Information Security Information Technology Publishing (including magazines) Local (food, drinks) There are numerous benefits to sponsors of the CCDC. During the competition, donated vendor products are used by the next generation of security, information technology, and computer science professionals. When these students enter the workforce they will have had experience with the equipment and software that was donated and will have a more informed opinion about the technologies available to them. Corporations that donate their time by volunteering are able to meet, interview, mentor, and observe the most qualified students from each regional competition in action. For the students, being able to network with professionals from various corporations is an opportunity in itself, highlighted by the possibility of receiving internships or job offers. Ideally the CIAS would like to have the teams shop for hardware or software using a fictional budget. This would require the availability of various hardware and software selections for the competitors to choose from. Our goal is to solicit multiple companies in each key industry for permanent or temporary donations of hardware and software. For example, in the 2006 National CCDC TippingPoint supplied their Intrusion Protection Systems (IPS) for the students to incorporate into their networks. This allowed the students to obtain hands-on experience with equipment that they did not have access to at their schools. TippingPoint benefited from this as well, as the students provided evaluations and direct feedback on their IPS solution. We believe that most sponsorship opportunities can be equally beneficial. Press kits are assembled and distributed during the competition and press releases are released mentioning our sponsors. There are other opportunities based on the sponsorship level, such as banners, speaking at the awards ceremony, displaying corporate logos on the competition bags, etc. We are currently in the planning phase for 2007, in which we are looking to invite the winning teams from each of the regional competitions to the national competition. We will be looking for corporate partners and sponsors to help make the competition a success.

4 Platinum Sponsorship Pre-Event Logo will appear on pre-event promotional literature Company and URL will be mentioned in the press releases Marketing and recruitment materials can be provided for the students On-Site Company and URL will be included in the press/media kit Logo will be displayed in the competition meeting and networking room $35,000 + Logo displayed on the backdrop at the Awards Ceremony Logo with hyperlink to homepage included on CCDC Webpage Post Event Company included in UTSA press releases Company profile included in follow up newsletter Live feedback session with competitors *Additional opportunities available, please contact us for more information. Gold Sponsorship Pre-Event Logo will appear on pre-event promotional literature Company will be mentioned in the press release along with URL Marketing and recruitment materials can be provided for the students On-Site Company and URL will be included in the press/media kit $15,000 $34,000 Logo will be displayed in the competition meeting and networking room Logo with hyperlink to homepage included on CCDC Webpage Post Event Feedback s or questionnaires from competitors Company profile included in follow up newsletter *Additional opportunities available, please contact us for more information.

5 Silver Sponsorship Pre-Event Logo will appear on pre-event promotional literature Company will be mentioned in the press release along with URLs Marketing and recruitment materials can be provided for the students On-Site Company and URL will be included in the press/media kit Negotiable Logo will be displayed in the competition meeting and networking room Logo with hyperlink to homepage included on CCDC Webpage Post Event Feedback s or questionnaires from competitors Company and URL will be included in follow up newsletter *Additional opportunities available, please contact us for more information. Contact Information Additional information may be found on our website : nationalccdc.org. You may contact us directly if you woud like additional information or have any questions pertaining to the competition. Competition or technical inquiries: Kevin Archer karcher@utsa.edu Phone: (210) Sponsorship inquiries: Jessica Archer jarcher@utsa.edu Phone: (210)

6 Special Thanks to our Sponsors of CCDC 2006 Platinum Level Sponsors Primary funding donated by the Department of Homeland Security Gold Level Sponsors Silver Level Sponsors