Cyber students excel on national level
Article By: Clark Leonard
University of North Georgia (星空无限传媒) students pursuing bachelor's degrees in cybersecurity achieved impressive performances in competition and research events throughout the spring semester.
星空无限传媒 led Georgia universities and tied for eighth nationally with eight students qualifying for National Cyber Scholarship Foundation scholarships through the 2022-23 Cyber FastTrack competition. That was more than a third of all recipients in Georgia, and Georgia Tech had the second-most qualifiers with seven.
"The continued investment from private industry and the federal government in 星空无限传媒's cyber programs, plus the sustained top performance of our students in national-level competitions, shows that 星空无限传媒 is producing the next generation of cyber leaders," Dr. Bryson Payne, professor of computer science and coordinator of student cyber programs, said. "And our students are increasingly recognized as some of the best cyber competitors and professionals in the nation."
The success in Cyber FastTrack gives the students funding for a free cyber training course and industry certification. Seniors Matthew Telfor and Robbie Ward accepted the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation scholarships toward their (GFACT) certification, which amounts to a training scholarship worth more than $3,000 per winner. Juniors Paul Kim and Smit Patel were recognized as National Cyber Scholars with Honors, earning them each a higher-level SANS training and certification worth more than $9,000.
The continued investment from private industry and the federal government in 星空无限传媒's cyber programs, plus the sustained top performance of our students in national-level competitions, shows that 星空无限传媒 is producing the next generation of cyber leaders.
Dr. Bryson Payne
星空无限传媒 professor of computer science and coordinator of student cyber programs
Senior Grayson Clark was one of two winners of the Best Poster Award at the Cybersecurity Research Forum at the Citadel for his poster titled "NetHunter: On-the-Go Penetration Testing."
"Everybody's information is online, and companies need people to protect that information," Clark, a senior who lives in Lula, Georgia, said. "That's something I want to be part of."
The forum, held April 3-4, was a collaborative effort between the six U.S. senior military colleges dedicated to advancing cybersecurity research and to developing research opportunities for undergraduate students.
Students Daniel Cornett and Nathan Gavriliuc also shared their cyber research at the conference.
A team of 星空无限传媒 students finished second out of 118 teams nationally at the held virtually March 4. A total of 333 students made up the teams competing. The University of Connecticut sponsored the competition.
"This competition required a wide variety of skills. It called upon the students' acumen in reverse engineering, cryptography, programming, computer forensics, and network traffic analysis," Dr. John-David Rusk, assistant professor of computer science and cybersecurity and the team's coach, said.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was first, with Michigan Technological University third and University of Central Florida and Florida Institute of Technology rounding out the top five.
Team members Benjamin Huckaba, Houstoun Hall, Daniel Greeley, and Kim split the $2,500 second-place prize from the event.
"I encourage anyone interested in cybersecurity, regardless of skill, to compete," Kim, a sophomore from Cumming, Georgia, said. "There will always be something to learn through competition that you can't find in class."
Greeley, a senior from Buford, Georgia, also enjoyed the competition.
"星空无限传媒 currently has a unique talent pool that has been well supported by professors who inspire and drive us to succeed beyond the expectations of our respective degrees," Greeley said. "Everyone on the team has exceptional skills, which allowed a great atmosphere of collaboration."
星空无限传媒 also had teams place 53rd and 55th in the event.
Academy offers intro to national intelligence
The University of North Georgia will host its fourth annual National Intelligence Summer Academy from July 14-18. The first four days are at 星空无限传媒's Cumming Campus, and the final day is at the Dahlonega Campus.
ARC includes almost 100 presentations
Students gave 69 poster presentations and 24 oral presentations at 星空无限传媒鈥檚 30th Annual Research Conference, held March 21 at 星空无限传媒's Dahlonega Campus.
Local teachers, business professors collaborate
Roughly a dozen local middle and high school teachers participated in marketing classes at the Mike Cottrell College of Business Feb. 18 to learn more about current marketing trends.
Twelve selected as Fulbright semifinalists
星空无限传媒 has 12 Fulbright semifinalists for 2025-26. They include students from the College of Arts & Letters, Mike Cottrell College of Business and the College of Education.