Tennessee Tech's CEROC takes second place in regional cyber defense competition
Students from Tennessee Tech’s Cybersecurity Education, Research and Outreach Center
(CEROC) placed 2nd in the SECCDC qualifiers.
Tennessee Tech University’s Cybersecurity Education, Research and Outreach Center
(CEROC) team took home second place in the Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition
(SECCDC) qualifiers.
The Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition is a collegiate-focused cyber defense competition
where teams take on the role of an IT security team tasked with defending a simulated
corporate network. Competitors must maintain critical services, respond to cyberattacks
and implement security measures while managing business operations.
The competition emphasizes skills in network defense, incident response, system administration
and business continuity. Teams earn points by successfully protecting their systems,
completing business tasks and responding effectively to threats, while points may
be deducted for service downtime or security breaches. The goal is to balance security
and functionality in a high-pressure, real-world cybersecurity scenario.
Throughout the year, Tech fields teams in various cyber competitions, including the
Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition, Hivestorm, CRAM, the individual games
of the National Cyber League and SECCDC. This year, a competition interest group was
even formed to help students prepare more effectively for the environments and challenges
these competitions present.
The 2025 SECCDC qualifiers main team, which placed second, featured a blend of both
seasoned competitors and newcomers. The team, captained by Gabriel Adams, included
Landon Byrge, Nate Dunlap, John Brentlinger, Landon Foister, Carter Haney, Joey Milton
and Trey Owen. This year, CEROC had so much interest in the competition they were
able to have a second exhibition team, which included Benjamin Barlow, JP Ognibene,
Nicholas Liverett, Laurae Thaete, Chandler Cook, Grant Palasak, Grayson Mosley and
Abram Weigant.
“I believe this year's CCDC team is one of the most determined group of people that
I've ever been a part of," said Adams. "I am very proud of our performance throughout
qualifiers and look forward to the hard work leading up to regionals. We have the
kind of team that immediately discussed ideas about how to do better next round, only
10 minutes after we finished an 8-hour competition. That's special, and I'm proud
to be a part of it.”
A longtime leader in cybersecurity issues, Tech was selected by the National Security
Agency (NSA) and National Science Foundation (NSF) to deliver the Tennessee GenCyber
on Wheels program, building upon its long-standing GenCyber summer camps. Tech is
recognized as a center of academic excellence in cyber defense education by the NSA
and hosts the first and largest CyberCorps SFS program in the state, along with the
Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy.
The university is also home to the Golden Eagle Cyber Certificate program, a dual
enrollment program allowing high school students to take college-level cybersecurity
courses contributing to their post-secondary work.
CEROC focuses on K-20 cybersecurity education programs, research in emerging cybersecurity
topics and outreach programs to stakeholders in academia, government and industry.
Learn more at www.tntech.edu/ceroc or by emailing ceroc@tntech.edu.