From Snow to Spring: Connecticut Institute of Technology Team Preps for Regional Cybersecurity Competition

The University of New Haven’s cybersecurity club is no stranger to hack@cfreg competitions. Yet, the team’s most recent qualifying round and the upcoming regionals of the Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) have exemplified the changing of the seasons, in more ways than one.

The CCDC qualifier was scheduled for January 29 – the same day Connecticut was hit with a massive snowstorm and the campus was closed. Team members knew it was critical to be in the same room, especially after having to compete virtually in the past. With some help from the director of the University’s Connecticut Institute of Technology, Ibrahim Baggili, Ph.D., the Office of Facilities, and the Department of Public Safety, the team was given permission to hunker down in Maxcy Hall for the event.

The team captain, Charles Barone ’22, explains that the snowstorm was unlike anything he had experienced before, but, ultimately, he believes, the opportunity to prepare together in-person could be a big factor in their success.

“None of this would have been possible though without the efforts of Dr. Baggili,” said Barone, a computer science major. “When it actually came time to leave Maxcy Hall after six hours of competing, the door was actually starting to freeze shut from ice forming around the door.”

‘An entirely new team’

Another important reason behind having everyone together in Maxcy Hall: The group competing was almost an entirely new team after two years of consistently placing high in cybersecurity competitions.

“This year was interesting preparation wise because it is an entirely new team made up of mostly first-year and sophomore students,” said Barone, who, along with Nicholas Dubois ’24, is one of only two students returning for the 2022 competition. “With this new team, it was interesting to see how we were able to come together to learn the necessary basic skills for success in a competition such as CCDC in such a short period of time.”

Barone explains that new members had a boot camp, of sorts, to prepare them for the upcoming competition.

“Preparation consisted of having these new team members learn everything from networking to Linux and Windows system administration,” he said.

The team is rounded out by Jonathan Chute '25, Matthew Smith '23, Devyn Souza '23, Ryan Stapleton '25, Zachary Trowbridge '24, and Mateusz Wiszniewski '25, as well as their coach Mohamed Nassar, Ph.D.

‘I am very proud of our team’

It is clear to many that the team’s desire to excel, despite its relative inexperience, remains the same.

“I am very proud of our team for making it to the next round, especially since all of our most experienced players graduated,” lauds Dr. Baggili. “I am expecting some major wins from them in the next 2-3 years!”

“The team proved via their success and their qualification to compete in the regionals that the University of New Haven has a strong system and that we are building a reputation for excellence in cybersecurity,” adds Dr. Nassar. “Charles played a tremendous role in transferring the knowledge and experience to the new team members.”

The team is now preparing for the Northeast Regional, which will be held from March 18 to 20 at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. The early forecast calls for scattered rain and snow showers throughout the weekend. Dr. Nassar will be joining the team for the trip.

“Our goal is to accumulate experience and develop a unique personality by manifesting our talent but also kindness, ethics, and sportsmanship,” he said.