For Immediate Release
February 20, 2024

Suffolk County Community College's Cybersecurity Team Takes Third Place in National Cyber Competition

Photo Caption: The Suffolk County Community College Cybersecurity Club Team (left to right): Dylan Zagal, Enoch Gomez, Gabriel Zambrana, Ryan Riazi, Justin Trieu, Matthew Waskiewicz, Wilson Pineda, Jose Mancero, Manual Gomez, Giorgio Lomanto.

Students in Suffolk County Community College’s Cybersecurity Club recently competed in the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE) Cybergames Competition against a full slate of four-year CAE designated schools. Suffolk had a remarkable third place finish, just behind Champlain College and Penn State University.

The NCAE Cyber Games is dedicated to inspiring college students to enter the exciting realm of cyber competitions. Suffolk Team members Ryan Riazi (Captain), Enoch Gomez, Manual Gomez, Giorgio Lomanto, Jose Mancero, Wilson Pineda, Justin Trieu, Matthew Waskiewicz, Dylan Zagal, Gabriel Zambrana exhibited dedication, enthusiasm and skills that align with industry-recognized CompTIA Security+ competencies and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) frameworks.

The group participated in two computer security games concurrently. The first was a type of computer security game called a Capture-the-Flag (CTF). In CTF games, players race to solve security-related challenges, often searching for digital “flags" hidden on servers, in encrypted text, or in applications. Challenges within the CTF are open-ended and require expertise and skills in a wide range of security-related topics: computer forensics, cryptography, network penetration testing, web security, system or network administration, among others. When a player submits a flag (or correct answer), they receive points for solving the challenge. The player or team with the highest cumulative score at the end of the game wins. The second piece of the competition was defending and responding to real-world cybersecurity attacks against the provided computer infrastructure. The team was scored on their capacity to maintain the operational ability of these systems by responding to and remediating against these attacks.

"Through hard work, dedication, and a high-caliber curriculum, Suffolk students were able to surpass teams from selective universities, showcasing the college’s exceptional quality of education and the commitment of Suffolk’s faculty. Their success in real-world scenarios reflects the transformative power of the college's curriculum,” said Cybersecurity Club Advisor Jon Sadowski.

To Learn more about Suffolk’s exciting Cybersecurity program, visit: sunysuffolk.edu/cybersecurity.

About Suffolk County Community College

Suffolk County Community College is the largest community college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, enrolling approximately 21,000 students at its three campuses in Selden, Brentwood and Riverhead. Suffolk offers the Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.), and Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees, as well as a variety of certificate programs. Offering affordable college tuition, a highly respected Honors program, workforce training programs, extensive extracurricular activities, championship athletic teams, and numerous transfer programs, Suffolk is a first-choice college for Long Island students. Visit us online at sunysuffolk.edu.

 

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