Bloomington, Ind. (Sept. 28, 2020) – IN3 (Indiana Innovation Institute) and Booz Allen Hamilton are announcing three student teams (listed below) representing six universities from across the country as the winners of the 2nd annual HackIN hardware/firmware reverse engineering cybersecurity virtual hackathon, an event in support of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s Trusted and Assured Microelectronics Program. IN3 provided a total of $7,000 to the winning teams.
More than 120 students from colleges and universities in six states (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Alabama) participated in the three-day event on September 25-27, 2020. The event engaged college students studying in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields and programs with hardware, firmware and embedded software analysis skills. HackIN events provide students with an opportunity to test skills that they need for real-world scenarios and a chance to network and learn from mentors with decades of experience in this area.
“Students participating this year provided us just a glimpse into the immense cyber talent base,” said Stephen E. Kelly, president and CEO, IN3. “We repeatedly see world-class skills that prove to be a great competitive edge for the students whether they work for established companies or entrepreneurial start-ups.”
At this year’s HackIN, participants played the role of security researchers with an elite organization and were asked to form teams of up to five individuals to prove their skills. Each individual was provided with a Game Kit which included a custom hardware keypad, firmware, and a virtual machine. Over the weekend, teams used the Game Kit across 30 challenges to demonstrate their ability to analyze and reverse engineer microcontrollers, kernel modules, user applications, a local server and a RISC-V module. The competition finished with a technical presentation by each of the top three teams to share experiences to all participants.
“HackIN 2020 attracted a remarkable cadre of students and future cyber professionals,” said Booz Allen Vice President Adam Weiner. “The ingenuity and diversity of this year’s participants was both impressive and humbling. I am confident that the hands-on experience they gained will help them build their skills and gain future opportunities in this dynamic and critical field.”
The following teams took home top honors:
1st Place ($4,000):
- Harrison Green – University of Pittsburgh
- Christopher Lambert – Carnegie Mellon University
- Alex Lin – Purdue University
- Claude Zou – University of Maryland, College Park
2nd Place ($2,000):
- Collin Burroughs – Purdue University
- Megan Singer – Purdue University
3rd Place ($1,000):
- Yamuna Ambalavanan – Purdue University
- Patrick Asher – Purdue University Global
- Heiko Stowasser – University of Cincinnati
- Noah Tongate – University of Louisville
- David Yang – Purdue University
Colleges and Universities Participating:
Anderson University, Butler University, Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University, IUPUI, Ivy Tech, Ivy Tech-Muncie, Ohio University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Purdue University Northwest, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology University of Cincinnati, University of Louisville, University of Maryland, University of Pittsburgh, University of Southern Alabama, Vincennes University, Wright State University.
About IN3
IN3 (Indiana Innovation Institute) works with academia, industry, and government to create a hub of national security innovation that helps solve critical defense priorities. IN3 connects regional, state, and national partners through a variety of means including convening research and business teams to solve emerging technical challenges for the Department of Defense. IN3 is focused on hypersonics, cyber-physical systems, trusted microelectronics, artificial intelligence and 5G. Learn more at www.ari-tech.org and follow us on Twitter @IN3indiana and LinkedIn.
About Booz Allen Hamilton
For more than 100 years, business, government, and military leaders have turned to Booz Allen Hamilton to solve their most complex problems. As a consulting firm with experts in analytics, digital, engineering and cyber, we help organizations transform. We are a key partner on some of the most innovative programs for governments worldwide and trusted by the most sensitive agencies. We work shoulder to shoulder with clients, using a mission-first approach to choose the right strategy and technology to help them realize their vision.
With global headquarters in McLean, Virginia, our firm employs about 27,200 people globally, and had revenue of $7.5 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2020. To learn more, visit www.boozallen.com. (NYSE: BAH)