The 2023 CyberTruck Challenge® is just weeks away and everything is in place for the participating students to have a game-changing experience when they gather in Warren, MI.
The event will take place from June 12-16 at the Macomb Community College Sports and Expo Center. Students throughout North America are invited to attend the event, which includes hands-on instruction on various aspects of heavy-vehicle cybersecurity, as well as opportunities to start up a truck and get the feel of it.
The National Motor Freight Traffic Association returns as premier sponsor of the event.
CyberTruck Challenge® has two primary objectives. The first is to develop the necessary talent who can come into the industry and deal with the cybersecurity challenges that are facing trucking, transportation, and logistics. The second is to develop a community of interest that can work together to solve these problems on an ongoing basis.
“When students come to understand how important these cybersecurity imperatives are to the trucking industry, we hope to see them inspired to pursue careers in which they can be part of the solution,” said Colorado State University’s (CSU) Associate Professor of Systems Engineering and the lead organizer of CyberTruck Challenge®, Dr. Jeremy Daily.
CSU student Jake Jepson agrees. Now pursuing a master’s degree, Jepson has attended the last several CyberTruck Challenges® and knows the power of the event.
“At the events, the OEMs and companies that go there allow us to do things you typically don’t have funding for, or are generally not allowed to do,” Jepson said. “It’s great knowledge and a great place to learn stuff.”
Jepson said he’s taken knowledge and relationships from each event and applied them to his studies, as well as his future career plans.
“The connections you make at events is crucial, as well as absolutely taking skills that I’ve learned during the events and applying them to my current and future research,” Jepson said. “The connections I’ve made there have hopefully opened up future career paths.”
The topics covered at CyberTruck Challenge® have helped Jepson see a way forward after he finishes his master’s degree.
“I like cars and I like cybersecurity so when I heard about it, I thought that’s for me,” Jepson said. “What interests me most is critical infrastructure in cars and trucks.”
This year’s event will begin with a welcome and orientation at 8:00 am CT on Monday, June 12, followed by sessions on software reverse engineering, wireless systems, cryptography, and truck systems/J1939.
On Tuesday, June 13, additional presentations will focus on diagnostic systems, binary compilation and patching and hardware reverse engineering. Wednesday and Thursday will be days of assessments, and student teams will offer briefs during the final day on Friday.
Monday and Tuesday will also feature dinner presentations.
Presenters will be:
- Karl Heimer (Michigan Economic Development Corporation)
- Daniel Salloum (Assured Information Security)
- Fish Wang (ASU)
- Edward Larson and Wyatt Ford (Red Balloon Security)
- Bill Hass
- Matt Carpenter and Erin Cornelius (GRIMM)
- Dr. Jeremy Daily (Colorado State University)
- Ben Gardiner (NMFTA)
- Sharika Kumar (Cummins)
- Urban Johnson (Serjon)
In addition to premier sponsor NMFTA, other sponsors include Cummins Inc., Geotab, PACCAR, Bosch, Navistar, Allison Transmission, Orbital, Daimler Truck North America, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Stoneridge, IOActive, Auto-ISAC, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, Macomb County Community College, Battelle, Volvo, the University of Detroit-Mercy, and Colorado State University.
Students who would still like to sign up for the event should click here.
