UIS Computer Science Club’s XSS Cross Cite Security team placed in the top 10 percent at the National Cyber League (NCL) and placed first in the log analysis category.
The NCL is a national competition that tests contestants’ cybersecurity knowledge and skills using simulated environments.
Not only did the team place in the top 10 percent of the nation, but many individual participants came out on top. UIS students Steve Berryman and Bhavyanshu Parasher placed in the top 1 percent and Austin Bransky placed in the top 3 percent.
The team, coached by UIS computer science instructor Brian Rogers, had been practicing since the start of the semester to hone their skills and go over basic concepts in each of the tournament’s categories.
It was difficult getting the team to meet in person, as some members were online students.
“Our main hurdle was figuring out how to provide the same level of interaction that is provided to the on-campus students for online students,” said Rogers. Often the team had to communicate through Google Hangout or Slack.
The tournament was entirely online, and team members camped out in UIS’ University Hall Building.
“I was there the whole time,” said Bransky. “I only left to go for food and then once for a game I had to go to. But other than that, most of us were there for most of the weekend.”
Bransky was impressed with all the effort put into this season’s tournament. He hopes to one day dethrone University of Hawai’i and O’ahu, which has routinely gotten first or second place at NCL.
Regardless of the outcome, the important part was that people came in and put in effort into the tournament, according to Rogers.
“As long as the students had fun and learned something, I will never be upset about the outcome,” he said. “My goal is to provide them an opportunity to learn. Why not have fun at the same time?”