The Michigan Collegiate Cyber Defense Network (CCDN) held its qualifier event at Davenport University’s Lettinga Campus in Grand Rapids, MI on Saturday, February 17th, 2018. Defeating teams from across the state including, Eastern Michigan University and Jackson College, the cyber defense team from Baker College of Flint proved themselves superior amongst the competitive field.
The CCDN qualifier provides an opportunity for qualified educational institutions in the state of Michigan to demonstrate skills in a competitive environment while having those skills assessed by industry professionals. Student teams are scored by their ability to detect and respond to both external and internal threats while maintaining the availability of existing network services including websites, email and database servers, firewalls, and workstations.
Members of the Baker College of Flint winning team are as follows:
Jeff Matter (Captain) of Clyde, Ohio (Senior)
Greg Kempf (Co-Captain) of Pettisville, Ohio (Senior)
Devin Beaver of Port Clinton, Ohio (Sophomore)
Reed Behnfeldt of Wauseon, Ohio (Senior)
Ryan Buck of McComb, Ohio (Freshman)
Joshua Leech of Seymour, Tennessee (Junior)
Dan Prinke of Clio, Michigan (Senior)
Matt Hansell of Lapeer, Michigan – Lead Team Advisor
Doug Witten of Swartz Creek, Michigan – Advisor
According to Matt Hansel, “the reason for this team’s success was their fire and passion for taking on unique cyber challenges that most wouldn’t even attempt. Their skill at thwarting cyber-attacks was extensive and a joy to watch as the team came together while striving for perfection.” The team has been practicing since last summer for this event and train every week including Saturdays and Sundays. The average hours range from 15 to 50 hours per week. Witten and his faculty provide a combination of instruction and lab with real-life drill scenarios to give an advantage to students at Baker College.
Jeff Matter indicated that the team came together with purpose at the right time. Jeff said, “We lost a team member 24 hours before the tournament, so we went with 7 rather than our normal 8 individuals. We were hyper-focused on the tasks at hand which allowed us to keep calm even through the most stressful situations.”
The cyber defense team will advance to compete in the 2018 Midwest Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition on March 23rd – 24th, 2018 at Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills, IL.