UVU wins second in international Cyber Security 9/12 competition
Apr 8, 2024, 1:00 PM
Maggie Hutchins, Hope Fager, Camden Mead, Nicholas Bradley, Cooper Hopkin, and Brandon Amacher. (UVU)
(UVU)
OREM, Utah — A group of Utah Valley University undergraduates has taken second place in the international Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge in Washington, D.C. By doing so, the UVU cyber security team — the “W0LV3R1NES” — proved they can compete with the best teams in the nation.
The Wolverines were the only team in competition comprised entirely of undergraduates. They beat out teams from Columbia University, The United States Military Academy at West Point and several other top schools among the 43 teams in competition.
In a release from UVU, the team’s coach, Brandon Amacher called the team “scrappy.” Amacher is also the director of UVU’s Emerging Technology Policy Lab.
According to Amacher, the teams were required to react to a global cybersecurity breach and then present solutions to industry and academic judges as the scenarios evolved.
Additionally, judges required the teams to justify their decisions while looking at how those choices would impact civilians, the military, law enforcement and private companies.
Duke University placed first.
“We know that we don’t necessarily have the same name recognition as some of the schools,” Amacher said in the release, “but our students are willing to work twice as hard, research two or three levels deeper, and put an immense amount of time into perfecting the skills necessary to succeed.”
The UVU team members were Hope Fager, Camden Mead, Cooper Hopkin, and Nicholas Bradley, with an Intel Support Team including Amanda Tew, Maliq Rowe, Apollonia Perfetti, and Jake Huber.
