Contact: Laura McPhail

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Battling in teams, earning points and gaining bragging rights while sparking interest in cybersecurity will be the essence of the upcoming Capture the Flag hacking competition. Co-sponsored by Mississippi State University’s National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center and ServiceMaster, this CTF event will be held July 27 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Registration is free, and participation can take place on site at ServiceMaster headquarters, 150 Peabody Place in Memphis, Tennessee, or via cloud technology. 

This Jeopardy-style competition pits teams of competitors—from ServiceMaster, Mississippi State, University of Alabama, University of Memphis, and other neighboring schools—against each other, solving a variety of tasks in categories such as web exploitation, network forensics and reverse engineering, while finding flags and scoring points. Refreshments will be provided, and prizes will go to the winners.

“CTF is one of the best ways to educate people about cybersecurity and introduce them to hacking techniques and basic programming exercises,” said NSPARC Security and Compliance Manager Craig Shorter. “We hope this joint effort with ServiceMaster will inspire these talented competitors to pursue careers in cybersecurity.” 

For more details on CTF, contact Sarah Hahn at sarah.hahn@servicemaster.com or Trey Hubbard at alh798@msstate.edu. Visit https://forms.gle/THxEB9ufuKTgY9Dt7 to register for the competition.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.

About NSPARC
Mississippi State University’s National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC) is nationally recognized for creating technology and solutions powered by data science. We use expertise in data analytics, predictive analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, system of systems, data governance, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing to develop solutions that further human progress. For more information, visit nsparc.msstate.edu.

About ServiceMaster
ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) solves the homeowner’s dilemma. Every day, we visit more than 75,000 homes and businesses through our extensive service network of expert professionals. Technology powers our trusted experts to engage with customers so they can order, buy and receive services when, where and how they want them. Our well-recognized brands include, AmeriSpec (home inspections), Furniture Medic (furniture repair), Merry Maids (residential cleaning), ServiceMaster Clean (janitorial), ServiceMaster Restore (disaster restoration), Terminix (termite and pest control), and Terminix Commercial (commercial termite and pest control). Like, follow or visit us at facebook.com/ServiceMaster, linkedin.com/ServiceMaster, twitter.com/ServiceMaster or servicemaster.com. ServiceMaster and its brands are the Official Home Services Provider for Minor League Baseball.