Story By Sharon Smith
Public Relations, OSU-Okmulgee

OSU-Okmulgee’s Cyber Security Competition Tests CareerTech Students’
Ability to Protect Home and Work

Top IT students from CareerTech campuses across the state competed in a cyber security contest at OSU-Okmulgee recently. Scott Newman, Chair of OSU-Okmulgee’s Information Technologies Division, says that the knowledge and skills demonstrated by these students will be helpful to them and their employers regardless of the career paths they eventually take.

Newman notes businesses and government organizations are hiring experts to maintain cyber security of their computers and networks, but computer systems in people’s homes are equally vulnerable—especially wireless networks.

“The majority of homeowners have very little concept about how vulnerable home systems can be,” observes Newman. “Many keep financial records and other sensitive data on these systems without giving much consideration to how to protect this information. Consequently, these systems are often easy targets.”

The competition involved students using their skills in a range of security-related events in the field of information technology (IT). Newman says the CareerTech students were challenged by the breadth of activities they experienced in this contest.

“This competition included events relating to: email forensics, biometrics, operating system security, file security, and Trojan security – it truly ran the gamut of the IT security field.”

The competition was also intended to make technically talented young people aware of the opportunities and rewards possible to those pursuing a career in IT security. Cyber security is an area that is growing and will continue to expand for some time. Today, individuals interested in this rapidly growing field may enter the workforce through academic programs focusing specifically on cyber security—such as OSU-Okmulgee associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in IT security and digital forensics. The Technology Centers involved in the competition included Tulsa Technology Center’s Riverside Campus, Central Technology Center in Drumright, Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City and Meridian Technology Center in Stillwater. All are members of the Oklahoma Center for Information Assurance and Forensics Education Consortium (OCIAFE). Cyber security instructor at Oklahoma City’s Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Joe Elkins said, “This competition helped students measure how far they’ve advanced in their computer and network administration skills. It’s good for them to experience the technical competitiveness they will find in the corporate world.”

Central Technology Center in Drumright received the Outstanding Technology Center Team Award. Pictured left to right are: Steven Kent, Gary Wayland, and Ted Runt; instructor Clinton Webb; and OSU-Okmulgee’s Information Technologies Division Chair Scott Newman.

Elkins appreciated the cooperation between the technology centers and OSU-Okmulgee.

“This is the consortium working at its best. There are several students from my technology center who are planning to enter OSU-Okmulgee’ s Bachelor of Technology degree program. In this competition they learned about the high quality education they’ ll receive here.”

The competition was a valuable learning experience for CareerTech students.

Robert Hamilton, Information Security Specialist in charge of Adult and Career Development for Oklahoma’s Technology Centers, said, “This competition allowed students to see how things are done in the work environment. It tested their skills in a pressure situation before they have to perform at an actual job. Also, the competition will look impressive on their resumes. It also helped the teachers to attend this competition, because they were able to talk and get fresh ideas of how to teach a subject.”

CareerTech instructors prepared their students for this competition by providing them with a variety of scenarios in which they applied the security-related skills and knowledge they had acquired.

Clint Webb, Cyber Security Instructor for Central Technology Center in Drumright, thought the contest provided his students a taste of the IT work world.

“The skills the students used in this competition were directly related to what they’ll do in the field in a crime scene investigation as a forensics investigator,” Webb said. “This competition reinforced what they had learned about biometric devices, corporate security, fingerprint scanners, iris scanners. Biometric data is used now because it’s harder for people to sabotage.”

Jim Morris, cyber security instructor from Tulsa Technology Center, noted this event was a great networking opportunity. “My students didn’t realize how advanced their skills in cyber security were until they had an opportunity to talk to students from other technology centers at this competition,” Morris said. “Then they felt an appreciation for the knowledge they had, and it gave them self confidence and spurred them on to learn more.” Matthew Jones, instructor at Stillwater’s Meridian Technology Center, felt the contest provided a valuable learning opportunity. “The skills the students used in the competition -- the real practical information – are what they ’ll have to know how to do when they’re working at a job and solving a real cyber crime,” Jones said. “It was also a great educational opportunity for them because they had to use new software and learned from the other technology center students about areas they’re studying.”

Tulsa Technology Center students put their cyber security skills to the test in OSU-Okmulgee’s Cyber Security Competition.

After the competition, a number of students and teachers emailed Scott Newman to mention how much they enjoyed participating in the competition. They appreciated both the quality of the competition and the facilities.

“Thank you for making the first OSU-Okmulgee Cyber Security competition such a great success,” wrote Mark Spitzmiller, student at Francis Tuttle Technology Center. “It was obvious that a great deal of time and effort was put into the contest. The fact that contingency plans were in place when software failed to download properly shows the planning that went into the competition was first rate. I can see that Mr. Murphy of Murphy's Law fame will have some work to do at OSU-Okmulgee if he wants to successfully disrupt things. I appreciate your giving us the opportunity to display the skills we are learning in our technology centers.”

“Thank you for the warm reception and fantastic accommodations for the Cyber Security Invitational,” wrote Joe Elkins, Cyber Security Instructor at Francis Tuttle Technology Center. “It was a wonderful experience for all the students, and myself as well. The students enjoyed the great competitions. Horizons were expanded. Thank you for the tremendous amount of effort expended for a terrific event.”

Oklahoma State University - Okmulgee is known for its hands-on technical education, world-class equipment and active partnerships with industry. Degree programs are developed according to emerging educational and labor market needs. Seventeen programs of study lead to Associate in Applied Science degrees, three programs of study lead to Associate in Science transfer degrees, and three programs lead to Bachelor of Technology degrees - Information Assurance and Forensics, Instrumentation Engineering Technology and Civil Engineering Technology.

OSU-Okmulgee was the first college in Oklahoma to offer a Graduate Performance Guarantee to employers. Through frequent advisory board meetings, corporate partners make significant contributions to curriculum, faculty improvement, equipment acquisition, internship experiences for students and employment opportunities for graduates. OSU-Okmulgee also promotes economic development among small Oklahoma firms by providing training and assistance with technology deployment, financing, bidding and purchasing procedures.

For more information call 918-293-4678 or 1-800-722-4471. Information also is available online at www.osu-okmulgee.edu.

The winners of the events were:

• 1st Place, Email Forensics: Steven Kent -- Central Technology Center.
• 1st Place, Biometrics: Mark Spitzmiller -- Francis Tuttle Career Technology Center.
• 1st Place, Operating System Security: Billy Cook -- Meridian Technology Center.
• 1st Place, File Security: Gary Wayland -- Central Technology Center.
• 1st Place, Trojans Security: Billy Cook -- Meridian Technology Center.
• 1st Place (Overall), Cyber Security: Billy Cook -- Meridian Technology Center.
• 2nd Place (Overall), Cyber Security: Kyle Schulz -- Central Technology Center.
• 3rd Place (Overall), Cyber Security: Mark Spitzmiller -- Francis Tuttle Career Technology Center.
• Outstanding Career Technology Center Team: Matthew Runt, Gary Wayland, and Steven Kent from Central Technology Center.