People huddled around monitors next to humming racks of computer towers, staring at screens of scrolling data.

The students were defending their servers from hackers, as well as trying to avoid technical difficulties and keep their servers running. This was the Cyber Defense Competition at the ISU Research Center, which lasted approximately 16 hours, from Friday night through Saturday morning.

“The whole goal is just to get people interested in it . to give them kind of practical experience in it outside the classroom,” said Benjamin Blakely, senior in computer engineering and director of the competition. “I think it’s good for our program . and, also, I think it is fun.”The hackers, also known as the Red Team, were in a room with racks of computers dedicated to hacking into the servers of the defending team, the Blue Team, which had worked to set up the servers for the last two weeks. The Red Team is made up of professionals, graduate students and faculty, while the Blue Team is made up of ISU students.

The Blue Team is split into 15 numbered teams with up to five members per team. Each has its own servers and Web sites, and gathered cubicles and computers in one large room. Statistics about the teams, points and connectivity were projected on screens on one side of the room.

The prize was a $100 gift certificate to University Book Store, but that wasn’t the main motivation.

“[Geeks] are prideful when they can do geeky things and beat other geeks. It’s fun, it’s enjoyable. It’s also a learning experience,” said Brian Jones, freshman in computer engineering and member of Blue Team 9. “Where else can you actually experience hacking in a legal environment where you can learn and no one else is adversely affected?”

The competition is kept safe by being hosted on a virtual Internet, called an Internet-Scale Event and Attack Generation Environment. ISEAGE can be run on up to 64 computers; 32 were used to run it for the competition.

“It’s really tough to find something wrong with the computer unless you are really good. It’s mainly using the tools and knowing how to use the tools,” said Jonathan Murphy, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering and member of the Red Team.

Grant Brinkmeyer, graduate student in logistics, operations and management information systems and member of the Red Team, said the teams had a rough start, but recovered later.

“I think it’s a really good chance for computer people from Iowa State to come in, test their skills, have some fun, try out new technology,” Brinkmeyer said.

Music sounded from different sources. Some teams had relaxed to play video games while other teams were still working to get their servers up. A room provided junk food to last all night. Later on, during the early morning, students were sleeping in corners or taking runs around the building to stay awake. The competition lasted approximately 16 hours, with servers going up and down throughout the night.

Services each team had to provide included a Web site, an FTP server, Internet access at a kiosk and e-mail.

Another team, the Green Team, included anybody who wanted to join and play the role of the users of the services provided by the Blue Team. They helped test the systems and filled out reports.

The judges and scorers made up the White Team.

During the event, there were different “anomalies” that were made to change the game up. These could range from poker, to trivia quizzes, to “fire drills” that allowed the Red Team to creep out and physically tamper with Blue Team’s computers. Poker, trivia quizzes and similar activities were played with negative points. Winning game would decrease a team’s score, which would put them a better position in the lineup.

At about 10 a.m. the teams gathered, and the Red Team debriefed the Blue Teams on their vulnerabilities. Blue Team 1, “Securing the Mouse,” was declared the winner.

“[The teams] did well. I was impressed because a lot of teams that started with a lot of problems, they stuck to it and none of the teams quit,” Blakely said.

Nathaniel Evans, graduate in electrical and computer engineering and previous director of the competition, was a part of the winning team.

“It was a much different experience than directing the competition. I hoped everyone learned a lot,” Evans said. “I’m proud of everybody, and I’m glad we did a good job.”