For two weekends in November, students in Dr. Calin Anton’s CMPT 480: Computer Network Security class were hacking their way to the top in the National Cyber League (NCL) cybersecurity competition.
After competing in a series of challenges where students demonstrate their ability to identify hackers from forensic data, break into vulnerable websites and recover from ransomware attacks, the university held ninth place overall in NCL’s power ranking of more than 500 universities and colleges in North America that compete in the biannual competition.
Four MacEwan students placed in the top 100 individual spots (out of 7,930 competitors) and five teams claimed top 100 positions (out of 4,672 teams).
“The students’ performance was just amazing,” says Dr. Anton. “Our long-term goal is to consistently finish within the top 10 per cent of participating institutions, and clearly establish the MacEwan cybersecurity program’s commitment to practical skill acquisition.”
That focus, says Dr. Anton, along with initiatives to engage community partners so students can perform real-world system analysis, addresses the need to focus on practical skills that industry has identified as lacking in many post-secondary cybersecurity programs.
It’s something Selena Lovelace appreciates. The fourth-year Bachelor of Science student placed 30th overall in the individual competition and her team ranked eighth out of 4,672.
“Competing in the NCL and performing well makes me feel like I’m beginning my career in cybersecurity with a head start,” she says.
The three lab periods Dr. Anton set aside for students to prepare was only a fraction of the time Lovelace spent practicing for the competitions. Since August, she has been competing in smaller contests and completing challenges as part of a scholarship competition through Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS).
She describes the two NCL weekends as marathons. Both the individual and team brackets started on Fridays at 11 a.m. and ran through until 7 p.m. on Sunday. Taking breaks only to eat, sleep or mentally reset, Lovelace – first alone and then with her team – completed multiple challenges in different categories, each with a point value.
“I cleared my schedule, got my hacking tools ready and made sure to get a good night’s sleep on Thursday,” she says. After an exhausting few days of working on challenges (and keeping an eye on a real-time scoreboard to see how she was doing), Lovelace was happy with the results.
“I definitely felt very accomplished and proud of myself,” she says. “The experience was incredibly fun and satisfying.”