FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DECEMBER 2021
NIATEC Concludes 2021 NICCDC and Receives Scholarship Award
Press Release
Pocatello— DECEMBER 2021 — At the National Information Assurance Training and Education Center (NIATEC), the final scoring for the 2021 Fall NIATEC Invitational Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NICCDC) has concluded after thorough review. A special congratulations to Brigham Young University’s Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition Team for a 1st place finish to win the 15th Annual NICCDC. Congratulations to the University of Central Florida for taking 2nd place and Utah Valley University for placing 3rd.
“This year we doubled down on our dedication to providing a quality learning experience that exposed students to important cybersecurity concepts and principles. Like years prior, we developed a dynamic virtual environment and themed scenario to supply a holistic cyber defense experience.” said Alex Nielson, Cybersecurity Analyst at NIATEC. This is the second year in a row that the NICCDC has been held virtually in consideration of the pandemic. This allowed NIATEC staff to overcome new challenges and provided new learning opportunities.
As in years past, NIATEC created a unique and creative scenario to engage competitors and enhance the learning experience. This year’s theme was “Perry Haughter: Frogwarts School of Bitcraft and Cyber-Wizardry” which requisitioned competitors to defend the fictious school network against dangerous hacktivist “Voldeworm.” 10 teams from around the mountain west region enrolled in this year’s competition.
NIATEC STAFF RECIEVES SIX SIGMA SCHOLARSHIP
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has awarded NIATEC staff members, Mike Pond and Alex Nielsen, scholarships to enroll in Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a well-known approach for achieving operational excellence that does more than simply improve processes. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certificates are recognized by organizations worldwide and can be a differentiator when applying for jobs. More detailed information about the course can be found at isu.edu/cob/business-resources/leansixsigma/
The staff members will be paired with an industry partner throughout the duration of the course. Together, the pairs will work to apply the principles and concepts learned with real-life and real-time data. Scholarships were awarded through an interview process and by selection by a DEQ committee. This scholarship is part of an ongoing initiative at NIATEC encouraging employees to seek out training that will enhance and expand product offerings.
For more information, press only:
Ryan Lind
lindryan[@]niatec.isu.edu
For more information on NIATEC:
https://sfs.niatec.iri.isu.edu/
https://niccdc.niatec.iri.isu.edu/
