Student makes U.S. Cyber Team
University of North Georgia (sa国际传媒官网网页入口) student Taylor Hitt is one of 25 competitors drafted Oct. 5 for the inaugural . He is the lone team member from Georgia.
Hitt is a senior from Cumming, Georgia, pursuing a degree in cybersecurity. He is one of five alternates who earned the final spots on the team.
The U.S. Cyber Team will take part in the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICSC) June 14-17 in Athens, Greece. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, along with other regional and international organizations, is hosting the international event.
"It's still sinking in that I made the team," Hitt said. "I knew this was going to be a challenge, but the cybersecurity courses at sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and the activities with our CyberHawks student club set me up for success."
It means a lot to have a sa国际传媒官网网页入口 student on the U.S. Cyber Team. It keeps sa国际传媒官网网页入口 on the map in cybersecurity at the highest level of competition. This is also a great next step for Taylor to help launch his career.
Dr. Bryson Payne
Professor of computer science and coordinator of student cybersecurity programs
Hitt was one of six students from sa国际传媒官网网页入口 who made the U.S. Cyber Combine, which pitted the final 60 team hopefuls between July 9 and Sept. 3.
The competitors underwent a cybersecurity aptitude evaluation, interviewed with multiple coaches, trained weekly in cybersecurity skills, and competed in an advanced cyber challenge.
Those 60 had advanced from the U.S. Cyber Open, held from May 28-June 11, that included a wide variety of games such as cryptography, networking, web applications and reconnaissance.
"You have to put in the daily two or three hours of more training on cyber challenges to be ready for the competition," Hitt said. "The smartest people make these tasks even tougher than what they see in their field. If you can do challenges well, you're ready for real-world problems."
Dr. Bryson Payne, sa国际传媒官网网页入口 professor of computer science and coordinator of student cybersecurity programs, is one of the coaches for the U.S. Cyber Team.
"It means a lot to have a sa国际传媒官网网页入口 student on the U.S. Cyber Team," Payne said. "It keeps sa国际传媒官网网页入口 on the map in cybersecurity at the highest level of competition. This is also a great next step for Taylor to help launch his career."
In addition to technical proficiency, Hitt showed teamwork, mentorship and leadership skills throughout the competitions, Payne said.
Competitors for both the U.S. and international portions of the ICSC are between the ages of 18 and 26, and most are undergraduate and graduate students.
Payne said the U.S. team already has online competitive events set up with European teams to practice for the ICSC.
"This will help the teams from around the world get to know one another," Payne said. "It's as important for networking as it is for competition."
Students Jacob Elder, Houstoun Hall, Benjamin Huckaba and Smit Patel and recent alumnus Kyung Michael Park were the other sa国际传媒官网网页入口 representatives among the final 60 for the U.S. Cyber Team.
sa国际传媒官网网页入口 wins SMC Cyber Fusion event at VMI
A four-student team from sa国际传媒官网网页入口 secured first place at the Senior Military College Cyber Fusion competition held Feb. 26-27 at Virginia Military Institute.
Students earn prizes for innovative ideas
sa国际传媒官网网页入口 students took center stage as they shared their business ideas and won prize money to support their entrepreneurial ambitions at the innovatesa国际传媒官网网页入口 Pitch Challenge held March 2.
Students embrace chamber internships
A sa国际传媒官网网页入口 student and a recent alumnus have made the most of their internships with local chambers of commerce and begun to blaze their career paths thanks to those experiences.
sa国际传媒官网网页入口 named Fulbright top producer
sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is providing transformative experiences abroad for alumni as a top producer of Fulbright students. The university earned this distinction for a ninth consecutive year and tied for third among master's institutions with four selections.