Embedded Capture the Flag Kicks Off

The 2023 Challenge has begun!

The annual MITRE Embedded Capture the Flag (eCTF) competition kicked off this week, beginning a semester long challenge that puts the future cyber workforce to the test: we task participants with not only developing security systems, but also immediately battle testing their work. Aside from being lively and engaging, this work is increasingly relevant, the embedded systems at the heart of the competition are becoming present in more and more devices found in everyday use.

A Unique Opportunity

The eCTF competition is highly effective because of its distinctive phases. After an initial system development phase, teams switch gears and attack other teams’ systems. Mistakes made in development are revealed and exploited by the attacks of others. Getting a chance to play both defense and offense creates a unique learning environment that inspires creativity, strategic thinking, and a rapid honing of cyber expertise. More than just an enjoyable enterprise, the competition is beneficial to students in both the short and long term. Students have fun (with many schools offering course credit for participation) and gain new skills, while also forming relationships that may lead to enhanced career opportunities. To bolster the value for students and because of our continued focus on workforce development, we have introduced corporate sponsors to this year’s competition. This creates opportunities for students to engage with leading companies in embedded systems and cybersecurity.

Broad Reach into the Future Workforce

Since its inception, the eCTF competition has realized more than 100% year over year growth in the number of teams participating and the roster of eCTF participants continues to grow. Registrant teams include dozens of universities (listed below), as well as multiple career centers, high schools and extracurricular programs. Our registrants expand far beyond the US, with representatives from countries such as India, Singapore, Scotland and the Netherlands. At an individual level, participating students are:

• 7% high schoolers
• 48% underclassman
• 23% graduating seniors
• 23% graduate students

All of the competitors are studying highly relevant tech curriculums with

• 43% in computer science
• 26% in cyber security
• 23% in electrical and computer engineering

Sponsoring the Future With electrical engineering, computer science, and cybersecurity roles becoming increasingly critical in the face of global strategic competition, bolstering interest and opportunities for our future workforce is vital. This year’s program offers sponsors access to the participating students, giving the students early exposure to potential careers and giving top companies a rare look at talent in action. While the eCTF sponsorship program’s top tier quickly sold out, there are additional opportunities available for companies to get involved this semester here. Current sponsors include Fortinet, CrowdStrike, Analog Devices, Boston Cybernetics Institute, and Rambus.

Making a Difference

The eCTF competition is a great way to enhance workforce development in the field of embedded systems security as our reliance on microchips for daily use continues to grow. It’s also a great way to understand the value of this competition is to hear directly from past participants themselves. You can learn more from Ben Janis, a former participant who connected with MITRE through eCTF and is now a part of the team running the competition, as he shares his participant experience in this post.

This year the eCTF’s focus is on how to protect a key fob for car door lock.

1.  Air Force Institute of Technology
2. AJ College of Science and Technology
3. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University
4. Baldwin Wallace University
5. BASIS Chandler
6. Carnegie Mellon University
7. Center I (Albemarle County Public Schools)
8. Clarendon High School
9. Clemson University
10. Delaware Area Career Center
11. Eastern Florida State College
12. Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School
13. Farmington High School
14. Florida Atlantic University
15. Florida International University
16. Georgia Institute of Technology
17. Hanze University of Applied Sciences
18. Harmony Science Academy
19. Huntsville City Schools Cyber Academy
20. Indian Institute of Technology Madras
21. Indiana Institute of Technology
22. Independent School District 196
23. Johns Hopkins University
24. Kilgore College
25. Lakota East High School
26. Louisiana State University
27. Marriotts Ridge High School
28. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
29. Michigan State University
30. Morgan State University
31. Mount Saint Dominic Academy
32. New Century Technology High School
33. New York University
34. Norfolk State University
35. North Carolina State University
36. Northern Virginia Community College
37. Nova Southeastern University
38. Parkway Spark!
39. Penn State Abington
40. Purdue University
41. River Hill High School
42. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
43. Searcy High School
44. Singapore Management University
45. Springfield-Clark County CTC
46. SRM Institute of Science and Technology
47. Symbiosis Institute of Technology
48. Texas A&M University
49. Thadomal Shahani Engineering College
50. The Harker School
51. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
52. Tufts University
53. United States Military Academy
54. University at Buffalo
55. University of Alabama in Huntsville
56. University of Arizona
57. University of California Irvine
58. University of California Santa Cruz
59. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
60. University of Connecticut
61. University of Dayton
62. University of Edinburgh
63. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
64. University of Maryland College Park
65. University of Massachusetts Amherst
66. University of New Hampshire
67. University of New Haven
68. University of North Dakota
69. University of Texas at Arlington
70. University of Texas at Dallas
71. University of Washington
72. University of Wyoming
73. US Air Force Academy
74. Virginia State University
75. Virginia Tech
76. Wellington High School
77. West Virginia University
78. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
79. Xavier University
80. Zambia University College of Technology

© 2023 MITRE Engenuity, LLC. Approved for Public Release. Document number ME0056