Only its first year in existence, Rogers State University’s cybersecurity team – the CyberCats – flew high at its second national competition, finishing in the top five percent of more than 4,600 teams.
Held from Friday, Nov. 3, through Sunday, Nov. 5, the National Cyber League (NCL) competition allowed students to test themselves against practical cybersecurity challenges likely to be faced in the workforce, such as identifying hackers from forensic data, penetration testing and auditing vulnerable websites, recovering from ransomware attacks, and more.
Competition modules included “Enumeration and Exploitation,” “Cryptography,” “Open-Source Intelligence,” “Password Cracking,” “Log Analysis,” “Network Traffic Analysis,” “Forensics,” “Scanning and Reconnaissance,” and “Web Application Exploitations.”
By the tournament’s end, the CyberCats finished in the top five percent out of 4,680 teams.
CyberCats members participating in the competition included Courtney Townsend of Tulsa, junior, cybersecurity and information assurance major; Ted Watson of Tulsa, sophomore, cybersecurity and information assurance major; My Le of Vietnam, junior, cybersecurity and information assurance, unmanned aircraft systems, and software development triple major; Nghi Nguyen of Vietnam, sophomore, cybersecurity and information assurance, unmanned aircraft systems, and software development triple major; Khai Nguyen of Vietnam, sophomore, cybersecurity and information assurance, unmanned aircraft systems, and software development triple major; and James Mcilvane of Claremore, senior, cybersecurity and information assurance major.
RSU Technology and Justice Studies Department Head Curtis Sparling commended the team on their high performance in the competition.
“This was only this team’s second national competition, and they are extremely motivated – I daresay – hungry to learn all they can about cybersecurity,” Sparling said. “Additionally, half the team work full-time, and these (competitions) are in addition to their full-time studies and full-time employment, so for them to have performed so well is a great accomplishment.
“They are just a remarkable group of learners,” he said.
The National Cyber League (NCL) is an inclusive, performance-based, learning-centered collegiate cybersecurity competition. NCL is open to high school and college students and is a community and virtual training ground that allows students to develop and hone their technical cybersecurity skills, helping students bridge the gap from curriculum to career.
Rogers State University offers a Bachelor of Technology in applied technology – cybersecurity degree, which includes expertly designed cybersecurity courses, cutting-edge resources, and career preparation in the fast-growing field of cybersecurity.
For more information, visit www.rsu.edu/BTcybersecurity.
