Media Advisory: Computer Security Competition will be held May 4 at Colorado State University

The fourth annual Computer and Network Vulnerability Assessment Simulation (CANVAS) will be held at Colorado State University Monday, May 4. The competition will involve students from eight colleges and universities and will assess the security of a hypothetical company’s computer network system.

WHEN/WHERE: 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday, May 4 in the 3rd Floor Lounge, Network Security and High Performance Computing Teaching Labs (Room 315 and 325), Computer Science Building at Colorado State University.  

DETAILS: The Fourth Annual Computer and Network Vulnerability Assessment Simulation (CANVAS) involves teams of undergraduates who are asked to assess the security of a corporate network created especially for the event. In past years, the "company" has been in the mortgage finance business or was an electronic voting machine company.

The sample computer network is intended to resemble a real network that security professionals may see in practice, but has vulnerabilities, such as bad user information or the opportunity to delete or alter data bases, intentionally inserted. Security assessment teams are formed in the morning by mixing students from different universities. The resulting team has four hours to assess the network and write a report.   

The event was founded and organized by Colorado State University and the U.S. Air Force Academy. This year participating universities also include Colorado College, Colorado Technical University, University of Denver, Fort Hayes State University, Metropolitan State College and University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

Researchers at Colorado universities are helping design systems to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure through funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Events such as CANVAS provide undergraduates with a hands-on opportunity to improve their knowledge of computer security, better understand the implications of security procedures, better understand how to protect the networks and how to become well-trained computer security professionals. Industry representatives will also be on hand.

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