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[April 27, 2006]

McAfee Issues Challenge To Computer Security StudentsMcAfee Issues Challenge To Computer Security Students

(Comtex Business Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Apr 27, 2006 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) --April 27, 2006 (FinancialWire) McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE) wants students from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to "Build and Defend Your Digital Fortress," a competition is designed to challenge students from RIT's B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences to build and defend secure computer networks from a set of simulated attacks posed by McAfee engineers.


The contest begins on Thursday, April 27, and runs through Friday, April 28.

Identity theft is a $3.2 billion dollar problem in this country, according to a recent study by the U.S. Justice Department. In an effort to prepare the next generation of computer crime fighters against identity theft, Rochester Institute of Technology has teamed up with McAfee to expose students to real-life computer security threats. As part of the competition, student teams will be required to design, test, build, defend and perform a forensic analysis on computer network systems.

In the first phase of the competition, students will be given a list of customer requirements. They will then implement McAfee's intrusion prevention (IPS) appliances and software, and once their designs are complete, McAfee will run tests on the students' network and systems to determine deficiencies, vulnerabilities, patch levels and general health.

The second portion of the contest will involve the students preparing their networks against a set of simulated attacks from McAfee engineers. The attacks will consist of internal and external threats. In the final phase of the competition, the students will perform a forensic analysis to assess damage to their systems and a winning team will be determined.

Brian Kenyon, Foundstone security evangelist for McAfee Inc., will give a keynote address at noon on Friday, April 28, in the Golisano College auditorium focusing on current and future computer security threats and what individuals can do to protect themselves. Kenyon is the lead author of the book Security Sage's Guide to Hardening the Network Infrastructure.

Last year, McAfee donated more than $1 million in next-generation intrusion prevention technology to the Golisano College to launch the college's master's program in computer security and information assurance. McAfee solutions have been integrated into several curricula, including the computer system security course, in which undergraduate students must attack and attempt to infiltrate other students' computer systems.

In related news, McAfee's IntruShield network IPS earned the Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 3 certification for its latest v 3.1 product release. McAfee's IntruShield network IPS appliance is the first intrusion prevention product to be certified as EAL 3 under the Common Criteria Certification, recognized in 20 countries and critical for U.S. federal, state and local government agencies implementing IT solutions.

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