ISEAGE, part of the Center for Cybersecurity Innovation & Outreach at Iowa State University, hosts several Cyber Defense Challenges (CDCs) each year. Visit the Get Involved page to learn how you can participate!
Kosovo teams competing remotely in the Spring 2026 ICDC.
These Cyber Defense Challenges are hands-on events that allow students across cybersecurity disciplines to test their skills in a realistic environment. Student competitors form Blue Teams made up of participants from their university or institution. Each team is responsible for maintaining and securing a network that provides services such as websites, email, remote desktop access, programming environments, and backup systems.
Some of these services are intentionally configured with hidden vulnerabilities by the ISEAGE Members. Teams are given approximately four weeks to identify and secure these vulnerabilities while preparing their networks for challenge.
After that, the Red Team is brought in for an eight-hour-long “attack phase”. The Red Team consists of security professionals from industry as well as graduate students from Iowa State’s Cyber Security program. Their job is to try to hack into the Blue Teams’ systems and steal “flags”. Each successful flag compromise results in a loss of points for the Blue Team.
At the same time, Blue Teams must ensure their services remain accessible and user-friendly for the Green Team, who act as end users within the challenge. Green Team members interact with systems by logging in, using email, browsing websites, and more, awarding points based on usability and performance. Blue Teams are also required to provide clear documentation to assist users throughout the process.
Red Team members in the Red Room at Spring 2024 ICDC.
In addition, the Green Team leader periodically releases anomalies, which are optional tasks that Blue Teams can complete for extra points. These challenges vary in complexity and may include adding users, deploying or reconfiguring servers, and other real-world IT scenarios. Teams must decide which tasks to prioritize while balancing security, usability, and time constraints.
CDC participants gain valuable real-world experience that is highly regarded by employers. Alumni have gone on to work at leading organizations such as WebFilings, Boeing, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins, Google, Meta, Amazon, and many federal agencies. Many of these employers actively recruit from CDC events.
The Cyber Defense Challenge brings together top industry professionals and some of the most talented students in the Midwest for an exciting and high-energy event. With a collaborative atmosphere, hands-on challenges, and a strong community, CDC offers an experience you will not forget.
Join us and be part of the action!