An NDSU team recently finished fourth at the National Cyber League competition.

A team of NDSU students earned fourth place in the spring National Cyber League team competition in the advanced-level “experienced students bracket.” Hundreds of colleges and universities and thousands of students participated in the competition this spring.

The National Cyber League competition provides students with an enjoyable and exciting competition environment in which to learn and demonstrate their cybersecurity skills.  Participants perform real world-relevant tasks as part of the competition’s challenges which correspond to tasks performed in cybersecurity industry job roles.

The NDSU team was comprised of students Jack Hance, Cameron Kolodjski, Cayden Schmandt, Jonathan Rivard, Matthew Tassava and Jordan Milbrath.  

The competition challenges students in ten different areas: open-source intelligence, cryptography, cracking passwords, analyzing logs, analyzing network traffic, wireless access, forensics, scanning, exploiting web applications and enumeration/exploitation.  Teams can earn points and are ranked in each category.  Top teams must excel in all of the competition areas.

“NCL keeps various cybersecurity skills fresh in my memory.  I always look forward to NCL’s individual and team games,” said graduate student Cameron Kolodjski. Kolodjski said it was a challenging and fun experience.

The National Cyber League was launched in 2011 by multiple agencies to drive the development of future cybersecurity professionals.  Over 12,000 students participate in NCL annually from over 600 academic institutions.  NDSU teams have participated in NCL for multiple years.  

“National Cyber League provides students with an excellent opportunity to hone and demonstrate their cybersecurity and problem-solving skills,” said Jeremy Straub, NDSU Cybersecurity Institute director and assistant professor of computer science, who has coached NDSU’s students since NDSU started participating in 2017. “It is a fun and exciting competition for students.  It also lets them showcase their skills to employers throughout the country using objective measures.” 

NDSU students participate in and excel at multiple cybersecurity competitions each year, including both online and in-person competitions.

As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.

NDSU finished fourth at the National Cyber League competition.