US Cyber team takes 3rd at international competition

The U.S. Cyber Team – which features three Dakota State University Trojans – won third place in the first-ever International Cybersecurity Challenge.

The 1st International Cybersecurity Challenge, June 14-17, was a blended cybersecurity-meets-e-sports program. The two-day challenge, held in Athens’ Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, tested athletes in cyber categories including forensics, cryptography, reverse engineering, and attack & defense.

The U.S. team is comprised of 20 athletes, ages 18-26, picked from a national application pool of 688. For the last year, they’ve represented the United States as the cyber-version of Olympic athletes.

Four Dakota State University students qualified for the International Cybersecurity Competition (ICC), a new venture created by Enisa, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. Enisa has held European cybersecurity challenges for several years but created the ICC in an effort to attract young talent and raise awareness in the global community about the education and skills needed for cybersecurity.

The ICC was held Jun 14-17 in Athens, Greece, with participants from around the world competing on seven teams. The U.S. team was sponsored by Katzcy, a social impact company committed to helping tech and cybersecurity companies grow.

Members of the U.S. team of 20 include four with Dakota State connections, alumni Joshua Klosterman and Logan Stratton, and current student Austen King. Student Eric Leslie also qualified but was unable to participate in the competition.