East Tennessee State University’s CyberBucs cybersecurity team showcased their growing expertise at the 2024 CyberForce Competition®, finishing an impressive 25th place out of 96 teams from 75 universities and colleges across the country. This marks the team’s second appearance in the competition, improving from their 29th-place finish last year, demonstrating their significant progress and skill development.
Organized by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and hosted by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, the CyberForce Competition® provides students with an immersive, hands-on experience in defending critical infrastructure from cyber threats. This year’s scenario focused on the cybersecurity of wind energy generation systems, with participants addressing real-world challenges such as limited maintenance budgets and website defacement. The competition aims to highlight the vital connection between cybersecurity and the protection of energy infrastructure, preparing students to tackle emerging cyber threats in the energy sector.
The ETSU CyberBucs team was led by Captain Justin Dubin, with team members Richmond Reed, Adam Hooven, Owen Riley, Kaiden Mix, and Robert Brown. They were mentored by Dr. Biju Bajracharya, Associate Professor in the Department of Computing, and Chandler Scott, a Lecturer and former team captain of the 2023 CyberForce team.
Dr. Bajracharya emphasized the significance of the competition in providing students with hands-on experience in real-world cybersecurity scenarios, particularly in the context of distributed energy resources (DERs) and wind energy grids under cyberattack. "The DOE’s CyberForce Program offers our students a unique opportunity to engage in the management and defense of critical energy infrastructure, building the skills necessary to protect our nation’s energy systems from emerging cyber threats," said Dr. Bajracharya.
The competition not only demonstrated the CyberBucs’ technical prowess but also contributed to the broader effort to address the increasing demand for cybersecurity professionals in the energy sector. Through their participation, ETSU students are gaining the expertise needed to play a critical role in safeguarding next-generation energy infrastructure.
In addition to their performance at CyberForce, the CyberBucs team also participated in the Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC) from the Central Region, showcasing their versatility in different cybersecurity challenges. ETSU fielded three teams in the Virtual Hivestorm Competition 2024, where their top team secured an impressive 30th place out of 446 teams nationwide.