MHCC’s cyber security students learn from competition

A handful of MHCC cyber security students joined the recent National Cyber League online competition that evaluated and tested their individual skills against thousands of competitors – and found the experience challenging, but rewarding.

The game, conducted online on Oct. 31, was a means of allowing students across the nation to try and get through obstacles by hacking their way through security “walls” and helping to hone their cyber security skills.

Scores for the Mt. Hood students who competed on Halloween were: 11 bronze rankers made it in the top 200, and 9 silvers were in the top 250 (top 25 percent) in the nation.

Paul Morris, MHCC cyber security instructor, said he plans to include such events in his curriculum.

“We’re actually creating a class now that’s going to be designated ‘CC – Cyber Competition,’ which will be part of our cyber degree,” Morris said.

Students described the highs and lows of the NCL competition, and their cyber security studies overall.

Brennan Derr is a first-year MHCC student who is “enthusiastic about the program” that has given him the tools and training that he needs for the industry, he said. He said that his score in this game wasn’t as good as he had hoped, but he used it as a learning experience.

“Next time I will make sure to do the things I know first, instead of wasting time trying to learn how to complete a challenge that wasted time,” Derr said. “It made it so (that) I was unable to complete challenges I knew I could do.

Derr said that MHCC’s accreditation and low cost tuition was a plus for him, along with the “top-notch” material that’s presented in class. “I’m excited for the next game and can’t wait to practice as a team,” he said.

Kaitlyn Krause, another first-year MHCC student, applauded the passion and efforts of Morris and Wayne Machuca, another cyber security instructor. She’s happy with her bronze placement in the games, especially for learning the curriculum for a little over a month, she said.

While watching TV, Krause saw a segment about cyber security and that’s when she knew that she wanted to stop cyber crimes. “Knowing that I get to be part of it is an amazing feeling. I would highly encourage other students to take part in the program,” she said.

Matthew Lister is a networking and cyber security student, and is one of the leaders of the MHCC silver team that participated in the NCL event. At the end of the game, he ranked in the middle of the silver league, he said.

“Doing better than a thousand computer science and information technology majors from across the country means I did well,” he said. It’s not the first time he’s tried the NCL event. He said this year, he was more comfortable and understood what the topics were and how the games should’ve been interpreted.

Lister said the Comptia A+ training led him to MHCC’s cyber security program, along with building a computer a year prior to attending. He called access to training material “appropriate” to Mt. Hood students’ background “invaluable.” He also applauded Derr, the first-year student, for doing great with his determination and involvement.

As for himself, Lister said he’s been incredibly supported by the faculty and the MHCC Foundation and will graduate this spring.

The Mt. Hood students will get another crack at NCL problem-solving soon.

“There will be a second game on Nov. 14 and during the first week of December, there will be team competitions,” Morris said. “I’m going to be putting together two silver teams and one bronze team for that.”

For more information about the National Cyber League, visit: NationalCyberLeague.org

For more on the MHCC cyber security program, visit: mhcc.edu/CyberSecurity.