Coastal Georgia Drops Anchor in the National Cyber League Cybersecurity Competition

Cyber defense students at the College of Coastal Georgia recently competed in the National Cyber League (NCL), an online cybersecurity competition to demonstrate their cybersecurity skills and knowledge. NCL uses a defensive and offensive puzzle-based, capture the flag style competition. It’s virtual training ground helps college students prepare and test their skills and knowledge against cybersecurity challenges that they will likely face in the workforce.

Dr. Nelbert St. Clair, assistant professor of Cyber Defense and Criminal Justice said, “This biannual event challenges students to think outside of the box and understand how hackers are able to gain access to a company’s network.”

Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions are one of the fastest ways to help students learn techniques for protecting systems against cyber-attacks. The contests are designed to serve as an educational exercise to give participants experience in securing a machine, as well as conducting and reacting to the sort of attacks found in the real world.

In the team competition held November 15-17, Coastal Georgia placed 187 out of 781 national competitors. Team members included Edward Hough, Eric Gravelle, Robert Moffatt, Lynsey Washington, Leo Walker, Catalina Falo, and Flamur Ramiqi. They earned 1,385 points out of a possible 3,000.

In the individual competition held November 1-3, four students placed in the top 25 percent. Out of 4149 participants, Walker placed 683, Hough 708, Ramiqi 1009, and Moffatt 1005.

“I am very proud of these students who gave up an entire weekend twice and competed in the cybersecurity team and individual competitions,” said Dr. Skip Mounts, dean of the School of Business and Public Management. “This shows the dedication our cyber defense students have for learning. This is our first semester with an active cyber program, and their performance is simply outstanding. We are looking forward to watching the program grown and develop over the next 18 months.”