Aerospace Cyber Defenders Unlock New Challenges at Embry-Riddle Capture-the-Flag Contest
Aerospace Cyber Defenders Unlock New Challenges at Embry-Riddle Capture-the-Flag Contest
Publish Date: 2026-02-20 10:07:00
Source Domain: news.erau.edu
For today’s cybersecurity students, focused on digital tools, physical locks are something seldom encountered. But at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s recent capture-the-flag competition, they had to pick them open.
The challenge was organized by Randall Brooks, chief engineer for product security at RTX, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies. “We want students to understand how a simple lock works and how one would go about looking for a deficiency in a lock,” he said.
The capture-the-flag competition was the highlight of the fourth Aviation Cyber Initiative (ACI) Cyber Rodeo at Embry‑Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. Held under the auspices of the Center for Aerospace Resilient Systems (CARS), the two-day event took place this month and included technical demonstrations, poster presentations and recruiting sessions. The top student performers and teams in the competition earned $10,000 in prizes sponsored by RTX.
“We really want to reinforce what’s being done at Embry-Riddle,” Brooks said. “We do our own (capture the flags) for our own training exercises because we think it’s a great way to help reinforce and learn.”
Students in the Department of Cyber Intelligence and Security at the Prescott Campus developed the challenges for the hypothetical airport attack scenario.(Photo: Embry-Riddle/David Massey)
Much of the capture-the-flag competition requires teams to earn points by defending against a worst-case scenario in which hackers have attacked a major airport. The challenges begin with securing compromised digital door locks, ticket systems and airline kiosks, as well as bringing baggage handling ramps and autonomous vehicles back online.
The students then need to regain control of in-cabin entertainment systems. Finally, they take on the roles of pilots and air traffic controllers who must contend with fake signals that confuse navigation systems, causing aircraft to display incorrect positions and…
