DSU cyber defense team advances to nationals
April 4, 2025
The Dakota State cyber defense competition team earned first place at regionals and will advance to the online National Championship in April.
Over 300 teams in nine regions competed for a chance to go to nationals, with 10 teams selected for the final competition.
“We had a great time at regionals,” said Juleigh Wilson, team captain. “You really get to know a group of people when you spend 16 hours together over a weekend.”
During those 16 hours of competition, the eight-member team secured 10-15 servers that held services like email, customer databases, and e-commerce websites, while also defending against real-time hacking attempts, according to Malachi Reynolds.
They also receive various tasks to complete throughout the competition while protecting and maintaining services and defending against hacks. These tasks include creating various reports on details such as the users, IP addresses, and vulnerabilities in their system, as well as incident reports.
To prepare for nationals, the team is practicing weekly, looking at adjusting some of their software, and reviewing their performance at regionals.
“We’re reviewing the detailed scorecard we got from regionals to see what we did wrong and what we can improve,” Wilson said.
Additionally, the students are able to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom. “There’s a surprising amount of things that I see from my classes that is useful in the actual competition,” said Ihor Makhynia.
“It’s also cool to see tools work against [an enemy],” added David Siemienas.
Wilson explained that in CCDC, they see an environment that is a lot closer to the real-world than what the students see in the labs.
Participating in these competitions is a big resume builder for the students, according to Siemienas. In addition to giving them simulated real world experiences, it also helps them answer interview questions, such as “How do you deal with time management in your tasks?”
Team advisor Dr. Cody Welu, associate professor in The Beacom College of Computer & Cyber Sciences, is incredibly proud of the motivation and dedication displayed by the team throughout regionals.
“Winning the regional competition is a direct reflection of the hard work and expertise each team member brought to the table,” Welu said. “They’ve not only honed their individual skills, but have also developed a seamless sense of teamwork that has been key to their success.”
The team will compete virtually in nationals on April 25-27.
Team members:
- Ethan Clark
- Ihor Makhynia
- Derek Manzella
- Jon Reel
- Malachi Reynolds
- David Siemienas
- Will Tilstra
- Juleigh Wilson