The Use of Cyber-Defense Exercises in Undergraduate Computing Education

This paper describes the placement of a large-scale cyberdefense exercise within the computer science and information technology curricula at an undergraduate institution, the United States Military Academy. Specifically, we describe the US National Security Agency Cyber-Defense Exercise as an example of a large-scale design, implement, and defend exercise. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the exercise inspires students to evaluate and create within the field of computer security. Our evidence includes examples of student research projects which benefited from unique opportunities for innovation. Finally, we provide the exercise documents that governed the 2016 Cyber-Defense Exercise and packet captures from our portion of the network.