Written by Zachary Butler
With the proliferation of computer technology, cybersecurity is a growing and important field. A field which is predicated on the ability to anticipate and outwit potential bad actors. Hands on practical experience is an incredible asset to students of this, and all information technology disciplines. Professor Russel Rittenhouse, the advisor for the Alfred State Pioneer Cybersecurity Team, believes the club will provide that opportunity to students. As the name implies, the club is a competition focused cybersecurity team. On January 18th the team had the first test of its steel. They competed to qualify for the Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NECCDC), the northeast chapter of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC). The competition assessed the team’s ability to operate, secure, manage, and maintain a corporate network. They also faced live interference from simulated bad actors attempting to attack their network. The team will take the knowledge gained from this challenge into the Lockdown Security Competition at University of Buffalo on April 25th. For anyone interested, the team hosts public meetings in SET 446 from 5:00 to 6:00 every Tuesday. These meetings feature presentations on various security topics ranging from ransomware to encryption and can also be viewed on the it.alfredstate.edu website. Tryouts for the competition team are scheduled for May 3rd.
