Southeast Cyber Defense team eyes regional, national contests

After winning the state competition for the sixth straight year and regionals ahead, the Southeast Cyber Defense team ultimately has its eyes set on San Antonio, where the national competition will be held.

The latest win came March 3 at Dempster Hall. The team's skills will be tested again Friday and Saturday at the Midwest Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in Illinois, where they will be competing against other teams in the region.

The Cyber Defense team takes part in demanding competitions lasting close to eight hours in which their skills of defending against attackers or attacking systems is put to the test.

In competition, the blue teams defend against attackers and the red team engages in attacking systems.

While there are 12 members on the Cyber Defense team at Southeast, only eight members are allowed to be in the room and compete in the competition. The other four members are the alternates.

Lucas Kossack, a junior at Southeast, is the team captain. He said while he enjoys the defensive strategies that come from the blue team, he plans on pursuing more of a red-team role in his future.

With six straight titles, Kossack said the key to the team's overall success is the way the team works together.

"We pass knowledge down through the years," Kossack said.

Looking back at last year, he said the team fell short at regionals.

"Last year, we did not place in the top three at regionals, which is something we normally do. We are really hoping to come back, as we have one of the strongest teams since I've been here. We are really gunning for first," Kossack said.

First place would earn the team a trip to San Antonio on April 13 to 15.

Members of the team are preparing for regionals by mimicking the environment they will be in during competition.

With three years of experience on the Cyber Defense team, Kossack looks to continue his leadership role through his essential knowledge of cyber security.

With cyber security being a challenging degree, the club allows members to continue building their knowledge outside the classroom.

The team generally spends eight hours in a room during competition and depends on communicating with each other through situations.

"It gets pretty high-pressured," Kossack said.

The pressure seems to be working well for the members of the team as it focuses in on the next competition.

The Cyber Defense Club at Southeast, holds its meetings every Wednesday in Dempster Hall. For more information, go to semocdc.com.