Two teams of Northeast State students posted impressive performances among thousands of competing teams at a national cyber security competition held in November.
Two cyber teams from the Security Operations (SECOPS) club of Northeast State competed in the National Cyber League’s (NCL) national cyber security competition. The teams placed 336th and 368th out of 4,680 teams competing. The performances placed Northeast State in the top 8 percent of cyber teams of the nation.
“They performed admirably, and I am so very proud of them for placing so high in their very first outing with having little insight as to what the competition entailed,” said Jim Holbrook, instructor and chair of the College’s Computer and Information Sciences Department. “We are expecting another match in the Spring semester and plan to compete in that one as well.”
This marked the first time Northeast State students competed in the NCL cyber competition. Team Top Flight Security combined the skills of students Daniel Rhymer, Jacob Morrow, Brynn Gallagher, Jerrod Perkins, and Bryce Goodwin. Students Mason Ramsey, Matthew Hickman, Joseph Frazier, Travis Slagle, and Ethan Fink joined forces to create Team Phishy Business.
Team Top Flight (from left) Daniel Rhymer, Brynn Gallagher, Jerrod Perkins, Bryce Goodwin, and Jacob Morrow.
Team Phishy Business (from left) Matthew Hickman, Travis Slagle, Mason Ramsey, and Joseph Frazier. (Not pictured, Ethan Fink.).
The fall competition was held over three days from November 3rd to November 5th. Students engaged in the tournament from the Northeast State cyber lab on the Blountville campus. The teams battled through tough questions and scenarios to score points. Individual and team rankings are based on points earned for correct answers, accuracy of answers, and timestamps measuring when the correct answer was submitted.
Students agreed the competition tested their skills to the highest level. The competition included cyber security tests such as multi-tiered encryption layers, hacking tests, computer forensics, exploitative and security testing among other cyber exercises for competing teams.
NCL hosts two competitions every year, once in the Spring and once in the Fall. Individual and team participants play the games simultaneously during the Practice Game, Individual Game, and Team Game.
At the end of each NCL season, student players who participated in the individual game will receive a Scouting Report with their performance breakdown. Scouting reports are designed to inform players of their strengths and weaknesses and to help employers understand the skills of NCL Players. Teams also receive scouting reports specific to the team’s overall performance during the competition.
“We are going back in the spring,” said Perkins of the next competition, “and we are going to place higher.”
Most of the team competitors are on track to graduate in spring. They are excited to move forward into the cyber security world as they consider a variety of career opportunities.
“I think we all want to get in a position to help people,” said Morrow. “Learning cyber security is also a great way to protect yourself.”
Northeast State offers associate degree pathways in the academic programs of Cyber Defense, Networking, Programming, and Systems Administration in addition to transfer-specific degrees. The department also features associate degrees in computer science and information systems through the Tennessee Transfer Pathway options for students pursuing a four-year degree. Students urged other students interested in information technology to join the cyber security career field as the need for safe cyber space grows fast.
“We need more good guys,” said Perkins. “Given enough time, anyone can be hacked.”
For more information, visit the Northeast State computer information technology webpage at https://www.northeaststate.edu/academic-affairs/academic-divisions/technologies/computer-science-cyber-defense.html.
Two teams of Northeast State students posted impressive performances among thousands of competing teams at a national cyber security competition held in November.
Two cyber teams from the Security Operations (SECOPS) club of Northeast State competed in the National Cyber League’s (NCL) national cyber security competition. The teams placed 336th and 368th out of 4,680 teams competing. The performances placed Northeast State in the top 8 percent of cyber teams of the nation.
“They performed admirably, and I am so very proud of them for placing so high in their very first outing with having little insight as to what the competition entailed,” said Jim Holbrook, instructor and chair of the College’s Computer and Information Sciences Department. “We are expecting another match in the Spring semester and plan to compete in that one as well.”
This marked the first time Northeast State students competed in the NCL cyber competition. Team Top Flight Security combined the skills of students Daniel Rhymer, Jacob Morrow, Brynn Gallagher, Jerrod Perkins, and Bryce Goodwin. Students Mason Ramsey, Matthew Hickman, Joseph Frazier, Travis Slagle, and Ethan Fink joined forces to create Team Phishy Business.
The fall competition was held over three days from November 3rd to November 5th. Students engaged in the tournament from the Northeast State cyber lab on the Blountville campus. The teams battled through tough questions and scenarios to score points. Individual and team rankings are based on points earned for correct answers, accuracy of answers, and timestamps measuring when the correct answer was submitted.
Students agreed the competition tested their skills to the highest level. The competition included cyber security tests such as multi-tiered encryption layers, hacking tests, computer forensics, exploitative and security testing among other cyber exercises for competing teams.
NCL hosts two competitions every year, once in the Spring and once in the Fall. Individual and team participants play the games simultaneously during the Practice Game, Individual Game, and Team Game.
At the end of each NCL season, student players who participated in the individual game will receive a Scouting Report with their performance breakdown. Scouting reports are designed to inform players of their strengths and weaknesses and to help employers understand the skills of NCL Players. Teams also receive scouting reports specific to the team’s overall performance during the competition.
“We are going back in the spring,” said Perkins of the next competition, “and we are going to place higher.”
Most of the team competitors are on track to graduate in spring. They are excited to move forward into the cyber security world as they consider a variety of career opportunities.
“I think we all want to get in a position to help people,” said Morrow. “Learning cyber security is also a great way to protect yourself.”
Northeast State offers associate degree pathways in the academic programs of Cyber Defense, Networking, Programming, and Systems Administration in addition to transfer-specific degrees. The department also features associate degrees in computer science and information systems through the Tennessee Transfer Pathway options for students pursuing a four-year degree. Students urged other students interested in information technology to join the cyber security career field as the need for safe cyber space grows fast.
“We need more good guys,” said Perkins. “Given enough time, anyone can be hacked.”
For more information, visit the Northeast State computer information technology webpage at https://www.northeaststate.edu/academic-affairs/academic-divisions/technologies/computer-science-cyber-defense.html.
Share this:
Like this: