Over the past week, UMBC faculty and students have given primetime TV news watchers in Baltimore a glimpse of the frontiers of artificial intelligence (AI) research. WZJ, Baltimore's CBS News affiliate, aired the AI series in six segments, four of which featured UMBC researchers.  CSEE professors Tinoosh Mohsenin and Anupam Joshi were among those mentioned.

The 2022 NSA Codebreaker Challenge is Underway

The annual NSA Codebreaker Challenge consists of a series of tasks that are worth a varying amount of points based on their difficulty. Schools will be ranked according to the total number of points accumulated by their students. Solutions may be submitted at any time for the duration of the Challenge, which will end early in January.

The initial tasks are divided into two sequences, A and B, which can be solved independently. Later tasks may rely on the results of earlier tasks. While not required, we recommend that you solve tasks in order since they flow with the storyline and may, in fact, be unsolvable without the information recovered from previous tasks.

Each task in this year’s challenge will require a range of skills. It starts with easy tasks but advances to harder ones, so it’s a great learning experience even if you are just learning about cybersecurity. To solve all of the tasks, you will need to call upon all of your technical expertise, your intuition, and your common sense.

Getting started is easy. Go to the challenge webpage, and create an account using your UMBC email address. After you’ve verified your email address, you will get an invitation to join the Discord server. Joining will earn you (and UMBC) your first point!

The 2022 NSA Codebreaker Challenge is Underway

The annual NSA Codebreaker Challenge consists of a series of tasks that are worth a varying amount of points based on their difficulty. Schools will be ranked according to the total number of points accumulated by their students. Solutions may be submitted at any time for the duration of the Challenge, which will end early in January.

The initial tasks are divided into two sequences, A and B, which can be solved independently. Later tasks may rely on the results of earlier tasks. While not required, we recommend that you solve tasks in order since they flow with the storyline and may, in fact, be unsolvable without the information recovered from previous tasks.

Each task in this year’s challenge will require a range of skills. It starts with easy tasks but advances to harder ones, so it’s a great learning experience even if you are just learning about cybersecurity. To solve all of the tasks, you will need to call upon all of your technical expertise, your intuition, and your common sense.

Getting started is easy. Go to the challenge webpage, and create an account using your UMBC email address. After you’ve verified your email address, you will get an invitation to join the Discord server. Joining will earn you (and UMBC) your first point!

Cynthia Matuszek, Ph.D.

In 2018, The Office of the Provost at UMBC established a faculty award program to recognize excellence among tenured faculty in all three colleges. Awardees were selected based on the promise and strength of their scholarship and teaching at UMBC.

This year’s faculty awards include two CSEE faculty members- Cynthia Matuszek, who has received the Early Career Faculty Excellence Award, and William Smith who has received the Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award.

These awards will be recognized at COEIT’s Spring Celebration event on Sunday, May 1, 2022 in the RAC at 2PM.

Cynthia Matuszek, Ph.D.

In 2018, The Office of the Provost at UMBC established a faculty award program to recognize excellence among tenured faculty in all three colleges. Awardees were selected based on the promise and strength of their scholarship and teaching at UMBC.

This year’s faculty awards include two CSEE faculty members- Cynthia Matuszek, who has received the Early Career Faculty Excellence Award, and William Smith who has received the Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award.

These awards will be recognized at COEIT’s Spring Celebration event on Sunday, May 1, 2022 in the RAC at 2PM.

Cynthia Matuszek, Ph.D.

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NSA Codebreaker challenge and student opportunities Webinar

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4-6 pm EDT Thursday, 9 September 2021, Online

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Register Here

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NSA will hold an NSALive Adobe Webinar on Thursday, September 9, 2021, from 4-6 pm EDT to learn about the National Security Agency and Student Program opportunities, as well as a deep dive into the 2021 Codebreaker Challenge. Register for the online session here.

The Codebreaker Challenge is the NSA’s annual cybersecurity and cryptanalysis challenge with a realistic, NSA mission-centric scenario open to U.S-based academic institutions. The 2021 challenge is open now and runs through December 31, 2021.

While the challenge is intended for students, faculty are encouraged to participate as well. Furthermore, the site was designed to make it easy for those faculty interested in incorporating the challenge into their courses (see the additional FAQ entries below.)

The 2021 Codebreaker Challenge consists of a series of tasks worth a varying amount of points based upon their difficulty. Schools will be ranked according to their students’ total number of points with the current ranking shown on a leaderboard. Solutions may be submitted at any time for the duration of the Challenge.

While not required, it is recommended that participants solve tasks in order since they flow with the storyline. Later tasks may rely on artifacts or inputs from earlier tasks. Each task in the 2021 challenge will require a range of skills. You will need to call upon all of your technical expertise, intuition, and common sense.

---

NSA Codebreaker challenge and student opportunities Webinar

---

4-6 pm EDT Thursday, 9 September 2021, Online

---

Register Here

---

NSA will hold an NSALive Adobe Webinar on Thursday, September 9, 2021, from 4-6 pm EDT to learn about the National Security Agency and Student Program opportunities, as well as a deep dive into the 2021 Codebreaker Challenge. Register for the online session here.

The Codebreaker Challenge is the NSA’s annual cybersecurity and cryptanalysis challenge with a realistic, NSA mission-centric scenario open to U.S-based academic institutions. The 2021 challenge is open now and runs through December 31, 2021.

While the challenge is intended for students, faculty are encouraged to participate as well. Furthermore, the site was designed to make it easy for those faculty interested in incorporating the challenge into their courses (see the additional FAQ entries below.)

The 2021 Codebreaker Challenge consists of a series of tasks worth a varying amount of points based upon their difficulty. Schools will be ranked according to their students’ total number of points with the current ranking shown on a leaderboard. Solutions may be submitted at any time for the duration of the Challenge.

While not required, it is recommended that participants solve tasks in order since they flow with the storyline. Later tasks may rely on artifacts or inputs from earlier tasks. Each task in the 2021 challenge will require a range of skills. You will need to call upon all of your technical expertise, intuition, and common sense.