Tuesday, October 11, 2016 | Volume 212 | Number 36 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
ISEAGE competition
Students defend against hackers in latest cyber defense clash By Jake.Dalby @iowastatedaily.com With the click of a keyboard an entire city is left in the dark without access to power or water, all at the hands of a few computer savvy criminals. The company behind these systems, The Careless Distribution of Currents, was just one victim of the many hundreds of cyber attacks that affect businesses, homes and individual consumers every day. Despite the resemblance to a modern day news story, the company does not exist and the attacks that left citizens unable to turn on their lights never occurred. Instead, this story is the foundation for the 2016 ISEAGE ISU Cyber Defense Competition, a day-long, team-based event challenging students to secure vulnerable computer systems while fending off malicious hackers. Using the real world as a template for the competition, a scenario is created each year for the competing teams, which must complete specified objectives in order to secure valuable digital information. The event is divided into three teams: the blue team, student-led groups; the red team, security professionals within the industry whose sole focus is to disrupt the blue team’s progress; and the green team, members of “The Careles Distribution Center” who test the functionality of each team’s servers. The teams work in tandem to create a tug of war effect as each play an integral role in either the destruction of a team’s infrastructure or propel them into first place. New to this year’s ISEAGE event, which took place Saturday, was the addition of new cyber-physical challenges in the form of power and water systems that require constant attention from competitors. “Normally at ISEAGE you have a fake company and their website and services, which it provides to employees and customers,” said Keane O’Kelley, graduate in electrical and computer engineering and ISEAGE event director. ”With cyber-physical, the scenario is a power and water company, so not only are there website and file services, but in addition there’s pump stations, power relays, etc., which are all virtual in which students must secure.” O’Kelley sees these changes as integral toward teaching students the ins and outs of information assurance and creating the most accurate representation of a real-life scenario.
“This is important because nowadays everything is so connected in the real world — all of our water systems, power supplies and scada control systems are all on the internet,” O’Kelley said. ”This is not very safe usually, so this kind of emulates that and shows students that these things are horribly insecure by default and makes them go out of their way to make them safe.” In order to mirror this valued information and system control that entices hackers, virtual flags are created within each team’s services and network. Those who can protect their “flags” from being compromised and keep access to the web and other services online gain points, while those who lose flags to the red team hackers lose their points. To prepare for the continuous eighthour cyber attack on competition day, teams are given three weeks to create and secure their networks. During this time, many teams take advantage of weekly “lab jams,” where student experts can offer help to lingering questions that may be affecting a team’s progress. In a small room, soft electronic music drowns out the sound of hundreds of clicks and scrolls as teams prepare their systems and divide tasks among teammates. Among the 20 teams that competed at this years ISEAGE, Team Eleven and the Pink Unicorns had high hopes for their team’s chances at victory as each team had returning competitors as well as new teammates.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Thomas Kirby, junior in software engineering and member of Team Eleven, recalls his team’s focus on individual tasks a week from competition day while also helping a new member learn the ropes of cyber security. “At that point, we were working on a general setup, which was actually making the servers themselves, as well as creating firewalls and adding users,” Kirby said. ”Our new member, Jake, didn’t know exactly what he was doing but was asking questions on how
ISEAGE p4
Testing centers make grade in accommodating more students By Emily.Schroer @iowastatedaily.com
Students hosted a vigil on campus Monday night to honor victims of police brutality.
Ryan Bretoi/Iowa State Daily
Vigil brings healing By Jacey.Goetzman @iowastatedaily.com Attendees gathered in a small circle and held flameless candles on the south lawn of the Campanile on Wednesday night as they participated in a vigil hosted by the Black Campus Ministry. The vigil was a collective idea from members of the black community at Iowa State, held to bring about healing. “[You must] heal before you can move on,” said Fayth Turner, president of the Black Campus Ministry. The vigil began with a prayer by Chad Britten, of InterVarsity. A moment of silence for those who lost their lives due to police brutality and violence followed. After, people were encouraged to talk about the issues that weighed heavy on their hearts.
Among the issues, police brutality was a resounding concern. “These injustices are continuing,” said Julian Neely, vice president of the Black Student Alliance. “Police are not being held accountable.” Neely added that most people don’t want to believe police brutality could affect Iowa. To this, he referenced a policy of local police departments, saying that racial bias is only tested for once in the initial hiring process. According to Neely, it isn’t tested for again. “I know not all cops are bad. I know that not all cops are good,” Neely said, “[but] you could be reaching for a pencil [and then] pow,[you’re just] another hashtag.” In the face of these events, Malik Burton, president of the Black Student Alliance, encouraged attendees to
consider their roles within movements such as Black Lives Matter. “Your voice matters. You can make a difference,” Burton said. Joe Roberson, graduate in education, agreed. “It’s on us, every minute, every day, every second,” Roberson said. Another concern discussed was unity. Burton rallied members of the community to surpass pettiness as well as support and take pride in one another. He encouraged them to talk, express their feelings and be themselves. “We come together for the people who aren’t together,” a member said. In the fight against institutionalized racism, Neely said people must work to break down the system. “You cannot allow them to mute you,” Neely said.
VIGIL p4
With midterms causing overflows in the testing centers, Iowa State has made changes to a couple of the centers. Doug Bull, director of the testing centers, discussed the new upgrades to Carver 60 and Durham 139. Carver 60 tends to be the most popular, he said. He isn’t sure why this is, but thinks it could have something to do with location on campus, how long it has been there and that it’s more convenient for students to use. Carver 60 has had 22 seats added to the center to grow from 48 to 70. “[Carver] seems really crowded,” said Zeke Ramirez, senior in global resource systems. “Durham seems less crowded most of the time.” Bull said Gilman 2552 is starting to become more popular with students.
But some students who are using the centers agree with Bull, while some don’t. “Every time I go [to Gilman], there has been nobody,” Ramirez said. Emelia Belding, sophomore transfer student in history, talked about how she likes Gilman because it’s quiet.
TESTING p8
Memorial Union hosts satellite voting location in October By Alex.Connor @iowastatedaily.com Satellite voting locations will be set up in the Memorial Union for the next few weeks leading up to Election Day 2016. The voting location, which is in the Pride Room of the Memorial Union, will be set up from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The satellite location will extend Monday through Friday next week at the same times. The last day the satellite location will be set up is Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All Story County ballots are available at satellite locations. Satellite locations also are set up at the Ames Public Library, the Human Services Center, the Ascension Lutheran Church and the West Hy-Vee.
TRIVIA
WEDNESDAY westtownepub.com
Max Goldberg/Iowa State Daily The Carver 60 and Durham 139 testing centers upgraded.
7:00pm to 10:00pm
To vote, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of Story County. You also must be registered to vote, the preregistration deadline is at 5 p.m. Oct. 29. Residents can register to vote, drop off forms, return voted ballots and ask questions regarding the election at the Memorial Union. In a press release, Story County Auditor Lucy Martin said, “We’ve been in the Memorial Union for the last week and a half, registering voters in partnership with the League of Women Voters. “We want to ensure that as many students as possible are prepared for Nov. 8. The Memorial Union staff has been extremely supportive, and I can’t thank them enough.” Election Day 2016 is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.
$3.00 Tater Tot Casserole $3.00 Coors Light Draws $3.00 Chuck Norris Bombs $3.00 Yum Yum Bombs 2 FREE pints of Coors Light if your team wins a round