Nineteen teams, six hours, one goal: protect American farmers from malicious hackers trying to disrupt the nation’s food chain.
This wasn’t the plot for the next big reality TV show, but the first-ever Cyber and AI Capture the Flag competition. The event was a collaboration between PlayCyber, an esports company that focuses on cybersecurity games, the 1890 Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and fostering the 19 land-grant HBCUs created by the Second Morill Act, and the US Department of Agriculture. CAUSES hosted the games on Sept. 9, providing the venue for UDC’s younger siblings.
Over the course of the day, the teams of six students and one coach competed in a variety of challenges, which ranged from “jail breaking” an AI that had been custom-designed for the event, to lockpicking and social engineering. There was even an escape room. Completing a long list of assigned challenges — or finding and finishing bonus tasks — earned the teams points, forcing players to strategically invest their time and resources.
After the dust settled and the keyboards grew quiet, one team stood above the rest. But all the participants gained valuable insight and experience into the challenges of cybersecurity. Some may even have found future careers.
Results
- 1st — Alabama A&M University
- 2nd — Florida A&M University
- 3rd — Fort Valley State University
