Cedarville’s Cyber Team Dominates National Contests

Cedarville University’s cyber operations program, the highest-ranked program in the nation according to Intelligent.com, proved its worth by winning Liberty University’s Cyber Summit Capture the Flag competition in November and finishing third at the prestigious VIVID Coalition event in Augusta, Georgia. 

Cedarville claimed the $3,000 prize at the Liberty event on November 2. The team of Yellow Jackets outscored teams from Messiah University and Montreat College. On November 14, the cybersecurity team placed third in the VIVID competition that was held near the U.S. Army Cyber Command. The event is the highest-level competition for schools designated as National Centers of Academic Excellence by the National Security Agency (NSA).  

The University of South Florida claimed first in the VIVID competition, with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University securing second. Following Cedarville was Augusta University and the University of Washington. Both competitions featured cyber challenges for the teams to navigate and solve. Each school interacted with cryptographic puzzles, defended against intensifying vulnerabilities and analyzed malware. Cedarville’s cybersecurity team dominated the competition by communicating with one another when they needed assistance on a difficult task.  

“Teamwork was the key to our success,” said Matthew Dudley, a sophomore cyber operations major from Plainfield, Illinois. “One of the toughest scenarios involved finding hidden files and keys on a windows machine, which required us to collaborate and divide tasks based on expertise. We had to rely on one another to get through each challenge.”  

On top of their success in competitions, Cedarville’s cybersecurity program is also growing in other ways. They recently developed the Cyber Leadership Development Program (CLDP), a new initiative dedicated to fostering community among students and providing leadership and learning opportunities.  

“Competing with Cedarville’s cybersecurity team reaffirmed my passion for cybersecurity and continues to provide me with real-world experience in solving problems under pressure,” said Dudley. 

Cedarville is one of 21 academic programs in the nation that has earned the distinguished National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations distinction from the NSA. Additionally, Cedarville’s computer science and cyber operations program has experienced remarkable growth in the past decade, attracting students from around the world seeking excellence in cybersecurity education from a uniquely Christian perspective.  

“The computer science and cyber operations faculty at Cedarville are outstanding,” said David Reid, a senior cyber operations and computer science major from Columbus, Ohio, and chief student fellow of the cybersecurity program. “They have made our cybersecurity program renowned for rigorous academics, enabling our student leaders to develop successful strategies to compete against some of the nation's brightest minds.” 

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is a Baptist university with undergraduate programs in arts, sciences, and professional programs, and graduate programs. With an enrollment of 6,384 students in more than 175 areas of study, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio and is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, and high graduation and retention rates. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.