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ECTF Participants:
A unique competition that builds knowledge, careers, and reputations

Teacher Giving Computer Science Lecture to Diverse Multiethnic Group of Female and Male Students in Dark College Room. Projecting Slideshow with Programming Code. Explaining Information Technology.

A Competition Unlike Any Other

Within a fun and competitive environment, MITRE’s eCTF develops practical skills for securing critical embedded systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), smart grids, and medical devices. As it includes design, build, and attack components, our approach balances offense and defense with an innovative program you won’t find in standard attack-only CTFs.

Beyond the Classroom

Nurturing Skills

Students confront an array of obstacles that require building skillsets across various cybersecurity disciplines ranging from basic to expert-level. Access to firmware (and MITRE professionals) guides participants in seeking solutions within an environment that is both encouraging and challenging.

15 things you'll learn through ecft.
Ectf impact strengthening our cyber systems in the u s.

A Valuable Course Students Will Enjoy

With artifacts and deliverables universities can use as course assignments, this eCTF doubles as real-world experience in an attractive setting for students. Participants gain extra exposure within academia and the security industry.

“I had no security experience prior to this competition. The learning curve was HUGE and I LOVED that! I was forced to learn so much. I loved doing the research, designing and implementing the secure system, and reviewing and attacking other teams’ designs. 
It was a blast!

Former eCTF Competitor

Education Beyond Textbooks

Develop real-world problem-solving skills with direct experience in project management, cybersecurity, cryptography, and embedded systems. eCTF is an opportunity to learn hard and soft skills often not taught in classroom environments.

Workforce Development in Action

The MITRE of eCTF helps fill critical workforce gaps by providing an environment where student competitors engage with both designing and attacking secure systems. Since it’s inception, the competition has grown exponentially and quite a few former competitors have found a home at MITRE! Check out our panel discussion with five former ECTF competitors, Ben, Maretta, Sam, Jake, and Patrick below!

Participating Universities

MITRE’s eCTF competition has consistently grown since the 2016 pilot competition with four universities. Now, more that 90 teams are competing annually. The eCTF network of participants includes hundreds of students from 95 schools:

 

  1. Air Force Institute of Technology
  2. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University
  3. Andrada Polytechnic High School
  4. Baldwin Wallace University
  5. California State University, Los Angeles
  6. Carnegie Mellon University
  7. Center I (Albemarle County Public Schools)
  8. Chennai Institute Of Technology
  9. City College of San Francisco
  10. Colombe Academy of Technology
  11. Columbia University
  12. CyberAegis
  13. Dakota State University
  14. Delaware Area Career Center
  15. Duke University
  16. East Tennessee State University
  17. Ecole 2600
  18. Ecole Royale de l’Air
  19. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott
  20. Florida Atlantic University
  21. Florida International University
  22. Georgia Institute of Technology
  23. Government Polytechnic, Pendurthi
  24. Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad
  25. Indian Institute of Technology Indore
  26. Indian Institute of Technology Madras
  27. Indiana Institute of Technology
  28. Ipnet Institute of Technology
  29. ISD 196
  30. Ivy Tech Community College Valparaiso
  31. Kansas State University
  32. Kilgore College
  33. Lakota East High School
  34. Lakota West High School
  35. Lenoir Community College
  36. LJ College of Computer Applications
  37. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  38. Michigan State University
  39. Michigan Technological University
  40. Morgan State University
  41. Munster High School
  42. New Century Technology High School
  43. Norfolk State University
  44. North Carolina State University
  45. Northeastern University
  46. Northern Virginia Community College
  47. NorthWest Arkansas Community College
  48. Oklahoma Christian University
  49. Pace University
  50. Parkway Spark!
  51. Purdue University
  52. Saddleback College
  53. San Francisco State University
  54. Sathyabama University of Science and Technology
  55. Shawnee Mission Center for Academic Achievement
  56. Singapore Management University
  57. Springfield-Clark County Career Technology Center
  58. St. Lawrence University
  59. Strayer University
  60. Summit Technology Academy
  61. Symbiosis Institute of Technology
  62. Tennessee Tech University
  63. Texas A&M University
  64. The Citadel
  65. The Ohio State University
  66. The University of Alabama
  67. The University of Tulsa
  68. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
  69. Tufts University
  70. United States Air Force Academy
  71. United States Coast Guard Academy
  72. United States Cyber Games
  73. University at Buffalo
  74. University of Arizona
  75. University of California Los Angeles
  76. University of California, Irvine
  77. University of California, Santa Barbara
  78. University of California, Santa Cruz
  79. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
  80. University of Connecticut
  81. University of Florida
  82. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  83. University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  84. University of Nebraska Omaha
  85. University of New Haven
  86. University of North Dakota
  87. University of Port Harcourt
  88. University of Texas at Arlington
  89. University of Washington
  90. Utica University
  91. Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute
  92. Virginia Tech
  93. West Virginia University
  94. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
  95. Xavier University

Register Your Team

Many schools offer the eCTF as a for-credit course, often as a special topic, seminar, or independent study. We strongly recommend this route as it helps students commit time for the competition and recognizes and awards students for their efforts. See https://ectf.mitre.org/team-advisors/ or contact us at ectf@mitre.org for more information about offering the course for credit.

At the time of team registration you do not need to know your full roster. We release an individual registration form in December that all team members complete.

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