OREM, Utah (ABC4) – The Utah Valley University Cybersecurity team, known as the “W0LV3RINES”, placed first in a recent international cybersecurity competition.
In what university officials are calling a “David vs. Goliath-type international cybersecurity competition” the UVU Cybersecurity Team was able to come out on top, beating teams of graduate and Ph.D. students from prestigious universities such as Tufts, Georgetown, Columbia, New York, American, and Duke Universities.
“The win demonstrates the exceptional quality of the National Security Program here at UVU,” said Brandon Amacher, private-sector cybersecurity professional.
According to UVU officials, the competition,”The Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge is “a one-of-a-kind competition designed to provide students across academic disciplines with a deeper understanding of the policy challenges associated with cyber crisis and conflict.”
The challenge involved elements of both interactive learning and real-world scenarios that require each team in the competition to analyze and respond to an evolving cyberattack.
“As director of the program and center, I have worked with these students and coaches over the years, and it is an amazing thing to see what they have accomplished here,” said Ryan Vogel, director of National Security Studies at UVU. “As an undergraduate team in just our second year competing, it was a huge feat to win this competition over all the elite teams from across the country and world.”
The UVU W0LV3R1NES team consisted of students Andrew Jensen, Mark Driggs, Alec Heitzmann, Hunter Karr, Ashton Earl, Bryton Jensen, and Edward Goebel, all in the National Security Studies program at UVU, university officials said.
