The University of Virginia has emerged as the winner of the Raytheon-sponsored (NYSE: RTN) 2018 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition for its efforts to safeguard a fictional biotech company’s network from persistent cyber threats.
Teams from top 10 universities took part in the three-day NCCDC championship that started Friday, April 13, in Orlando, Florida, and were selected from over 230 universities and colleges, Raytheon said Sunday.
“NCCDC’s systematic, professional approach to this competition and the use of real-world business scenarios will contribute to filling the projected 1.8 million cyber job vacancies by 2022,” said John DeSimone, vice president of cybersecurity and special missions at Raytheon’s intelligence, information and services business. 
“We want to congratulate University of Virginia and encourage them to continue their pursuit of cybersecurity excellence through internships and throughout their careers post-graduation,†he added.
Raytheon will tour the winning team to national cybersecurity and research sites in Washington, D.C. this summer.
The University of Central Florida and Dakota State University respectively landed the second and third spots in the competition.
Other universities that participated in the championship are:
- Baylor University
- California State University, Northridge
- Indiana Tech
- University of Alaska, Fairbanks
- University of Buffalo
- University of Washington, Seattle
- Utah Valley University
