Adjutant General of Maryland, Major General Linda Singh gave opening remarks at MAGIC’s seventh Capture the Flag (CTF 007) Cybersecurity Competition held on Saturday, April 13, 2019, welcoming competitors from around the world, including Ecuador and Estonia. Over 100 students competed across 8 different locations including three international locations. A group of folk dancers from Paide, Estonia also brought two teams to compete on site in Westminster. The event was streamed from the main arena located at the Community Media Center of Carroll County in Westminster, MD. In addition to the main arena, the event had multiple host locations competing simultaneously across the globe, including:
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Baltimore County Library, Catonsville Branch in Catonsville, MD
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Frederick County Public Library, C. Burr Artz Public Library in Frederick, MD
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Paide High School in Paide, Estonia
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Saint Dominic School in Quito, Ecuador
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St. Mary’s County Library, Lexington Park Library in Lexington Park, MD
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Tallinn University of Technology in Tallinn, Estonia
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Ting Westminster in Westminster, MD
The first place team, CyberSpike, included Rao Zvorovski, a student at Tartu University, Jasper Rebane, a student at Pelgulinna Gymnaasium, Johannes Kadak, a student at Tallin University of Techology, and Joonatan Jakobson, a student at Laagri School, who competed at Tallinn University of Technology in Tallinn, Estonia.
The second place team, FCCCyber1, included Patrick Stalnaker, Patrick O’banion, Jakob Denlinger, and James Hayes, all students at Frederick Community College, who competed at the Frederick County Public Library, C. Burr Artz Public Library, in Frederick, MD.
The third place team, UMUCPadawans, included Christopher Haller, Artin Aidun, John Dela Guardia, and Aaron McCay, all students at the University of Maryland University College, who played at the Community Media Center of Carroll County in Westminster, MD.
“We hope to see more Estonian and other foreign teams in the future. One special treat was watching the eight Kabujalake folk dancers from Paide transition to cyber warriors at the event,” said Retired Command Sergeant Major Thomas Beyard, formerly Senior Enlisted Leader of the Maryland National Guard and coordinator of the Westminster – Paide Partner City Fund.
Dr. Birgy Lorenz from Tallinn University of Technology in Tallinn, Estonia adds, “We saw from the MAGIC CTF how talent can be detected, but at the same time also beginners can have a good time and fun. Now we have a good position to explain to our Estonian audience how important is to participate in international competitions and what it will give to the children and young talents.”
MAGIC is working to close the gap of needed cybersecurity professionals by increasing students’ interest in cybersecurity and by connecting communities with an interest in preparing their workforce for future careers in technology and cybersecurity. Previous CTF participants were responsible for preparing cybersecurity puzzles for the competition, improving the event scoreboard, and overseeing the event’s AWS platform. The role of these high school and college students in MAGIC’s 7th CTF is another important milestone as MAGIC continues to nurture local technology talent.
This event would not be possible without the support of our sponsors, partners and volunteers. MAGIC’s seventh CTF sponsors include: Carroll Community College, CTC Technology and Energy, Maryland Department of Commerce, Next Century City, University of Maryland University College, Carroll Hospital Center, Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Westminster. MAGIC also partnered with the Carroll County Public Library and System Source for this event. Several MAGIC CTF sponsors and partners were on location in Westminster, MD and at all of the participating locations there were cybersecurity and IT professionals working as volunteer coaches.
MAGIC’s 8th Capture the Flag will be held Saturday, November 2, 2019.
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MAGIC (the Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Westminster, MD. MAGIC’s mission is to build a tech ecosystem that creates and nurtures talent, entrepreneurship, and tech businesses, elevating the Westminster gigabit community to lead the Mid-Atlantic region. The City of Westminster provides key financial support to MAGIC. For additional information about MAGIC, contact Amy Rupp, 443-759-0480, arupp@magicinc.org. Learn more about MAGIC at https://www.magicinc.org/
