Jayhackers Win First and Third Place at Cyberdefense Competition

EECS student teams, known as the Jayhackers, placed 1st and 3rd in a cyberdefense competition at Kansas State University in late October. A team of six students from KU’s  computer science and computer engineering programs and eight students from the BSIT program traveled to Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas to participate in a Cyberdefense Competition as part of the Central Area Networking and Security Workshop (CANSec). Five teams, two from KU, one from K-State, and two from Fontbonne University, spent seven hours securing virtual machines and defending a virtual network from outside attackers (the red team), all while trying to keep their business services available. While the activities may seem to be focused on security and managing operating systems, understanding how networks work and being able to analyze code are all important components of success at these competitions. Moreover, attitude and persistence are vital. Under significant pressure from the red team, KU EECS teams were able to make adjustments, embrace the chaos created by the red team, and never give up.

From left to right: The winning team Chase Odgers, Dmitri Smith, Noah Brabec, Jonathan Downs, Sagindyk Urazayev, Ross Copeland;  the BSIT team, Matt Loo, Jason Savage, Hannah West, Doug Van Allen, Elly Richardson, Matt Bysfield, Madi Schulte, Jud King