On Saturday, Feb. 17, 2023, the IUP Cybersecurity Team participated in the Nation Center of Academic Excellence – Northeast Cyber Competition and secured a fourth-place finish against 10 other cyber teams from US colleges and universities.
The IUP Hackathon Team included Matthew Conrad, Evan Crooks, Chase Dynka, Jordan Fischer, Noah Grattan, and Thomas McGillan. Waleed Farag, faculty advisor of the Cybersecurity Club, said, “the event has been an excellent opportunity for our students to gain deep hands-on experience and work on simulated scenarios that mimic the pressure of real-life cyberattack situations. It was a very close competition, and the IUP team has scored points that are only 5 percent below the first-place team.”
The CAE-NE Hackathon is an annual event for college students that provides an opportunity to gain valuable experience in competitive cybersecurity events and increase cybersecurity skills through teamwork and real-world challenges. Each team is tasked with securing a computer system against attacks, and points are awarded based on speed and security.
Evan Crooks, a student who participated in the competition and a recipient of the DoD Cyber Scholarship, stated, “It was a challenging and highly educational experience. I enjoyed working alongside my teammates to solve problems in a rapidly changing and competitive environment.”
Eleven cyber teams from various universities in the northeastern region participated in the event, including Pennsylvania State University, Champlain College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University, and others.
