2017 Cyber Cup Competition
Daniel Ragsdale, Director, Texas A&M Cybersecurity Center
Professor of Practice, Computer Science and Engineering
The annual Cyber Cup Competition was held during the 2017 National Cyber Summit June 7-8 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The event, sponsored by Analog Devices and Booz Allen Hamilton, aimed to inspire technical skillset development through fun security-focused competitions. The event included both a student and professional bracket for competition within varying skill levels.
The 2018 competition will follow the same “Capture the Flag” format as last year, where teams will solve increasingly difficulty challenges across numerous categories including networking, coding, cryptography and web application hacking.
Ragsdale from Texas A&M shares his experience in participating along with 45 other teams across the national:
“Regardless of your background, this year's event will provide an excellent opportunity to have fun, learn, and test your abilities to effectively navigate today's challenging cyber environments, while also networking with industry leaders.”
Speaker Bio
Daniel Ragsdale
Dr. Daniel “Rags” Ragsdale is a 30-year Army veteran whose service included combat deployments to Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom), Afghanistan (Enduring Freedom), and Grenada (Urgent Fury). He is currently a professor of practice at Texas A&M and is the director of the Cybersecurity Initiative for the Texas A&M Experiment Extension Service (TEES). In that capacity he is responsible for managing and directing cybersecurity research and educational initiatives at Texas A&M.
In his previous job he was a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) where he was responsible for a large portfolio of cybersecurity and educational programs. Before joining DARPA, Ragsdale served for more than a decade at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he served in a variety of leadership roles, culminating with his service as vice dean for education.
Ragsdale graduated from the US Military Academy in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He received his master’s degree in computer science from the Naval Post Graduate School in 1990 and attended Texas A&M University where he received his Ph.D. in computer science in 2001.
His research interests include cybersecurity, vulnerability research, reverse engineering, computer ethics, privacy. Ragsdale has more than 20 years of supervisory experience in research and development and educational settings. His focus on the technical as well as the human dimension of cyber security helped him to bring innovation to the laboratory, to the classroom, and to operational settings. He has authored or co-authored dozens of cyber security papers, articles, and book chapters.
To meet and hear speakers like this register for this year's Summit!