Three UIS Computer Science students finish strong in national cyber security competition

Three University of Illinois Springfield Computer Science majors have finished in the top 20 percent of 3,070 competitors in the first of three National Cyber League (NCL) annual competitions.

Austin Bransky of Marengo, Illinois; Paula Kawal of Black Diamond, Washington and Dennis McDonald of Payson, Illinois are competing against other students from across the country.

During the competition, students defend systems from real-time network attacks, learning how to find the attacks in system logs, traffic captures and much more. The students use NCL-sanctioned gymnasiums, virtual learning environments located throughout the U.S. that are comprised of systems-integrated software and hardware, to practice and develop their skills.

“Our students have one more individual game to go before they engage in a final, team-based competition at the end of the season,” said Janis Rose, a UIS Computer Science instructor. “They’re off to a great start!”

The games are performance based to measure a player’s strengths and weakness among learning objectives. The competition utilizes certified ethical hacker objectives, such as open source intelligence, traffic and log analysis and wireless security.

The National Cyber League was founded in May 2011 to provide an ongoing virtual training ground for collegiate students to develop, practice, and validate their cybersecurity skills.

For more information, contact Janis Rose at 217/206-8246 or jrose2@uis.edu.