Grey Hats place second in regional collegiate cyber defense competition

The UH Mānoa Grey Hats, made up of eight Information and Computer Science students, recently placed second in the at-large regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition on Saturday, March 5. Virtually hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the UH Mānoa team “logged-on” from UH Mānoa’s Pacific Ocean Science and Technology building. Over the course of the weekend, the team worked to maintain and secure a network from intrusions for a small college campus, while keeping all necessary services available to students, faculty and the public. These real-time events allowed students to hone their skills in information assurance, cyber security and prepare them for employment once they graduate.

 

The ICS cyber defense team consisted of members: Alexander Chantavy, Anthony Gaskell, Robert Kim, Vince Loiseleur, Mark Munar, Bryce Nagareda, Jason Tsang, and Jason Yeo. The Grey Hats were one of eight teams from across the country that participated, each trying to repel the "Red Team" operating out of Mississippi State University. For this competition, students were asked to take on administrative duties as the IT staff.

 

Leading up to this event, the team met regularly over the Fall and Spring semesters to train for the event, spending their free time researching networks, operating systems and software vulnerabilities outside the classroom in order to fine-tune their defense and operational skills.

 

For more information about the UH Mānoa Grey Hats or if you are interested in competing in other competitions, please contact Jason at tsangtmc@gmail.com, Mark at mmmunar@hawaii.edu or Tony at gaskell@hawaii.edu.