When autocomplete options are available, use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.
Apply Give

Cyber defense team wins third place in national championships

A group of students from Liberty University’s Cyber Defense Club, sponsored by the School of Engineering & Computational Sciences, won third place in the Gold Bracket in the 2015 National Cyber League (NCL) Fall Postseason National Championship game, held Dec. 5-12.

A group of students from Liberty University’s Cyber Defense Club, sponsored by the School of Engineering & Computational Sciences, won third place in the Gold Bracket in the 2015 National Cyber League (NCL) Fall Postseason National Championship game, held Dec. 5-12. The results were announced this month.

There were 128 teams, consisting of five to 10 players each, in the competition, representing schools such as Penn State University, Texas A&M, and the University of Maryland. Student teams work together to solve problems that mirror real world crisis events, working under deadlines and technical and resource constraints. Topics ranged from network mapping, reading/interpreting network traffic captures, reverse engineering, system exploitation, and network forensics. Teams competed from remote locations.

The Liberty team “Shamrock,” captained by senior Dustin Bowe, competed at the Gold level, which requires experienced players who have the highest level of knowledge and skill regarding cyber security and are in the top 15 percent of scored players in the NCL. The team included junior James Hogan, senior Troy Cosner, senior Joe Moyer, senior David Yates, graduate student Charlie Snyder (M.S. in Cyber Security), senior Mike Merrill, and senior Michaela Bixler.

Teams were placed in brackets after a preseason qualifying event. Liberty also had a team qualify for the Silver Bracket in the early competition.

Dr. Mark Shaneck, director of Liberty’s Center for Cyber Security, sees the win as a testament to the growth and quality of the program.

“Our students are continuing to show that they can successfully compete in the cyber security arena at the national level,” Shaneck said. “Our cyber security program is growing quickly and becoming a leader in the field. Our overall goal is to have this region be nationally known for its cyber security expertise, and I think that the results from this competition help to show that we are making progress toward that goal.”

The Cyber Defense Club placed second on its first trip to the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in March 2014 and claimed the top three spots of the National Cyber League’s Gold Bracket in November 2013.

Liberty’s School of Engineering & Computational Sciences has a lot to offer aspiring cyber defenders at the undergraduate and graduate level. The program is looking to get high schoolers interested as well. The department will be hosting a new cyber security summer camp this year for local high school students and plans to host high school cyber competitions in the future.

Chat Live Chat Live Request Info Request Info Apply Now Apply Now Visit Liberty Visit Liberty