DefEX: Hands-On Cyber Defense Exercise for Undergraduate Students

Abstract : DefEX incorporates a set of hands-on cyber security exercises aimed at developing problem-solving proficiency, teamwork, and cyber defense skills in undergraduate students. The exercises include Code-Level and System-Level Hardening, Static and Dynamic Reverse Engineering, Detect and Defeat, Digital Forensics, and the Wireless Access Point Treasure Hunt. Providing a diverse group of students with a common set of foundational knowledge and finding the balance between enabling participation of novice students and generating problems complex enough to challenge experienced students posed the major curriculum design risks. Instructors reduced the risks by administering a technical survey, requiring students to complete a set of fundamental exercises, and assigning balanced student teams. As a result, student teams successfully completed all of the exercises.