This fall, my team at the Penn State Competitive Cyber Security Organization placed 3rd at the Global Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition’s (CPTC) New England regional, hosted at the University of New Haven.
The Grind #
Over fourteen hours, we tested a realistic enterprise network for vulnerabilities, fielded live business-side curveballs on top of the technical work, and put together a sixty-page findings report — the kind of deliverable a real client would actually receive after an engagement. Out of ten universities competing, we finished 3rd.
The Team #
Huge credit to Jonathan Skeete, Brady McLaughlin, Asa Reynolds, Owen Dransfield, and Dhrupad Joshi for the months of prep that went into this, and to our faculty advisors Nicklaus Giacobe and Matt Ruff for their constant support.
This regional finish keeps us in the mix heading toward the Global Finals — last year’s team made history with a 3rd-place global finish, and this year’s group is aiming to build on that.