Throughout 2024, 鲍厂贵鈥檚 CyberHerd Team traveled to and competed in multiple competitions and left with multiple wins. Just in the Fall of 2024 alone, amidst two hurricanes and midterms, the USF CyberHerd Team entered and won first or placed within the top three in eight prestigious national competitions.
DoD Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge: 1st Place
Date: 05/20/24 - Waseem Albaba (USF CyberHerd Captain) took First place in . Around 3,000 competitors, including seasoned industry veterans and university students, logged on for the 8-hour capture-the-flag (CTF) contest, where the DoD challenged the country鈥檚 top cybersecurity minds to compete in a skills competition. CyberHerd team captain Waseem Albaba came out on top during the spring 2024 event. Read the full story here.
DEF CON 32 Adversarial Village Capture the Flag (CTF) Competition: 2nd Place
Dates: 08/08/24 - 08/11/24 - Waseem Albaba (USF CyberHerd Captain) and Jack Trigg won 2nd place on the Adversarial CTF at , where 78 other teams competed with an estimated total of 100 players. DEF CON is among the top cybersecurity conferences in the nation, attracting computer security professionals, federal agencies, researchers, students, and cybersecurity enthusiasts, and it is well recognized for its highly challenging CTFs.
A-ISAC Cybersecurity Summit (Aviation Competition): 2nd and 3rd Place
Dates: 09/17/24 - 09/19/24 - 鲍厂贵鈥檚 CyberHerd Team earned 2nd and 3rd place at the 2024 Aviation Information Sharing and Analysis Center (A-ISAC) Cybersecurity Summit, held in New Orleans. The team competed against universities such as Tulane, Louisiana State University (LSU), and the University of Central Florida (UCF), tackling real-world aviation cybersecurity challenges. Read the full story here.
Raymond James Capture the Flag (CTF) Competition: 1st Place
Date: 10/5/24 - 鲍厂贵鈥檚 CyberHerd Team claimed first place in the highly competitive Raymond James Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, outperforming top universities such as Johns Hopkins, Purdue, University of Florida, UCF, and University of Tampa. The CTF event challenged participants with a series of cybersecurity tasks, testing their problem-solving and technical skills. Read the full story here.
U.S. Navy鈥檚 Cyber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge (CRAM): 2nd Place
Date: 10/05/24 - 鲍厂贵鈥檚 CyberHerd Team achieved second place in the U.S. Department of the Navy鈥檚 鈥淐yber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge (CRAM),鈥� winning a $40,000 prize. The team impressed the judges with their HERD (Holistic Exploit Risk Discovery) Tool, which leveraged AI models to address real-world cybersecurity challenges in changing environments. Read the full story here.
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) National Convention: 1st Place
Date: 10/30/24 - 11/03/24 - At the , USF CyberHerd Team member Sannan Wani led his team to victory in the Cybersecurity Challenge, earning first place and a $4,500 prize. SHPE is committed to enhancing minority representation in STEM fields. This year鈥檚 conference celebrated SHPE's 50th anniversary, attracting over 15,000 students, featuring more than 350 exhibitors, and providing 700 interview booths. Read the full story here.
Virtual Internship and Varied Innovative Demonstrations (VIVID) Competition: 1st Place
Date: 11/13/24 to 11/14/24 - 鲍厂贵鈥檚 CyberHerd Team claimed first place at the 2024 V. Hosted by the Augusta Cybersecurity Center and Augusta University, the national-level event brought together top cybersecurity teams from across the nation to solve complex challenges.
EC-Council Capture-the-Flag (CTF) 28th Colloquium: 1st Place
Date: 11/14/24 - (The Colloquium) hosted an open cybersecurity , in collaboration with the University of Tampa (UT), in November 2024. Our USF CyberHerd team took first place in the EC-Council competition! The team engaged in two different 1-hour long team challenges in groups of three. They engaged in guided challenges and an open bonus challenge!
Southeast Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC): 2nd Place Southeastern Regional Winner + Secured Spot for the Global Competition starting 01/17/25
Date: 11/16/24 to 11/17/24 - In the 鲍厂贵鈥檚 CyberHerd Team earned second place, securing a wildcard slot for the national championship. SECPTC is a competition that mimics real-world Cyber scenarios as closely as possible. The CPTC competition focuses on penetration testing, offering students the opportunity to work through real-world cybersecurity scenarios in a high-pressure environment. 鈥淭here will be 12 U.S, universities, including one international school participating in the CPTC Globals (akin to national finals). The Global competition will take place in less than two weeks on January 17th -20th. Read the full story here.
Palo Alto | Secure the Future Competition: 3rd Place!
Dates: 10/01/24-12/19/24 - Presented by the Secure the Future Academic Competition challenges undergraduate students to protect operational assets by analyzing, comparing, and selecting advanced security tools and methodologies. Sanaan Wani, USF CyberHerd team member, was among 200 students to sign up. Only 80 advanced past Phase 1, with more eliminated in Phase 2, leaving just 23 participants in Phase 3. The competition, held from Oct. 1 to Dec. 19, required students to complete research-based modules every two weeks, graded on specific criteria. From the final 23, 10 students were chosen to present in person at the company鈥檚 headquarters in Santa Clara. Sanaan Wani delivered his final video presentation on 01/09/25 and won 3rd place, securing a prize of $2,500.
Professor Marbin Pazos Revilla said, "The competition spanned over several months, with a starting cohort of around 200 competitors from across the nation. After several phases, a selected group of 10 competitors made it to the final round in Palo Alto Headquarters in Santa Clara, California.
Palo Alto Networks stands today as one of the most recognizable and influential companies in the networking industry, manufacturing advanced next-generation firewalls and other cybersecurity products, and its products are ubiquitous protecting the infrastructure and services of organizations across the globe. This achievement by Sanaan, is a statement of his rapid advancement of cybersecurity and networking skills, and his strong and consistent to solve cybersecurity challenges. Additionally, it places USF at the podium, yet again, at a National Stage."
Conclusion: A Year of Success
鲍厂贵鈥檚 CyberHerd Team鈥檚 outstanding achievements throughout 2024 highlight their advanced technical capabilities and problem-solving skills. Despite facing significant challenges, including two hurricanes and midterms, the team demonstrated remarkable resilience and the ability to excel in the most competitive cybersecurity environments. As they continue to build on their successes, 鲍厂贵鈥檚 CyberHerd Team is becoming a powerful force in the national cybersecurity community.
Way to go USF Cyberherd! We can鈥檛 wait to see what you do in 2025.