UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A team of Penn State students recently placed third out of 169 universities in the U.S. Department of Energy’s annual CyberForce Competition. The team, which was comprised of members from the University’s Competitive Cyber Security Organization (CCSO), also earned third place in last year’s event. 

The CyberForce Competition, which is a part of DOE’s CyberForce Program, took place Nov. 4-5 in St. Charles, Illinois, and used a hands-on security approach to engage students in emergency scenarios.  

 The event aims to teach students skills that are relevant in safeguarding the nation’s critical energy sector and give them a platform to put those skills to use. This year, students were tasked with defending a vehicle manufacturer’s virtual infrastructure. 

“This competition gives college students a chance to learn not only about cybersecurity but also about the technologies used in modern power grids,” team member Petr Esakov, a senior in electrical engineering, said. “The goal of our team in this competition, just like in a real organization, is to minimize the impact of the cyberattacks and better detect and analyze the issue.” 

Nick Giacobe, CCSO adviser and associate teaching professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, said the competition has equipped students with hyper-realistic experiences that are practical in cyber defense. 

“The critical infrastructure perspective of CyberForce brings these cyber concepts into meaningful, real-world applications,” Giacobe said. “By placing third again this year, Penn State continues to rank highly in this competition and proves that our students are well prepared to take on the challenge and become key players in the cybersecurity industry.” 

Team member Jenna Fox said collaboration was what helped the team overcome its biggest challenge — time. 

“During the competition, we had to communicate and work together to make sure we completed everything in a timely manner,” said Fox, a sophomore majoring in cybersecurity analytics and operations. “From hardening our systems to completing our C-suite brief, we always worked up to the wire to make sure that everything was as good as we could make it.” 

“I think our communication and teamwork really set us apart from everyone else,” she noted.

Along with Esakov and Fox, team members included College of Information Sciences and Technology students Liam Geyer, Brendan McShane and Jackson Ortiz. 

For Fox, who chose to pursue a degree in cybersecurity because it emphasizes lifelong learning, the major is more than just an interest. 

“Cybersecurity is a field that is constantly growing and changing; students and professionals alike must stay on their toes to keep up to date,” she said. “Penn State and the College of IST provide me with a platform to grow and mature in the field.” 

Though he’s not pursuing a major in cybersecurity analytics and operations, Esakov felt well-equipped for success in the competition thanks to his involvement with CCSO. 

“Most of the skills I used for this competition came from having actively participated in the CCSO here at Penn State,” he said. “The club is a great place for people to learn cybersecurity and provides great opportunities to compete, such as CyberForce.”