Dive Brief:

• A competitive league that pits college students and their teams against each other to test their cybersecurity skills crowned students from Dakota State University as its Nos. 1 and 2 players for 2014.
• Dakota State was also the winner of the National Cyber League’s “gold bracket” in the league’s postseason, Campus Technology reported.
• The league offers lab and challenge exercises, as well as puzzles, that can be incorporated into cybersecurity classes.

Dive Insight:

Like mathletes, debate teams, and academic quiz competitions, organized cybersecurity competition between schools seems like a smart way to bring some recognition to the students who might otherwise toil in obscurity — and to schools with top STEM programs. The league had 1,368 participants in its regular season, with 86 teams in post-season competition. Network traffic analysis, scanning and reconnaissance, and password cracking were some of the topics covered in the competition. The No. 3 player in the league for 2014 was from Honolulu Community College, with Jackson University and Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi coming in second and third place in postseason play.