The CyberRaiders team attended the National Round of the Air & Space Force Association’s CyberPatriot competition on Dec. 12 through the 15th, taking 1st and 4th place in the Gold Tier State Round. Halfway through its second year, the CyberRaiders are making strides in progress, coming out on top over 84 other competitors. Cybersecurity student and senior member Kelly Svendsen attributes this growth to the hands-on learning opportunities.
“This approach ensures we’re well-prepared for the challenges in our competitions and the cybersecurity [world],” Svendsen said.
Both cybersecurity and business program students traveled to the Miami-Dade College (MDC) Wolfson Campus on Nov. 21 to see the Artificial Intelligence Lab firsthand and listen to a general information session about MDC’s unique opportunities—including a holistic approach to cybersecurity training.
“The best way that you can [contribute to] a company is hands-on—knowing exactly what you are doing and [being aware of] threat detection,” Director of Recruitment James Veard said. “It’s very important that our programs have a theoretical and practical [approach].”
Leading by example, students were then guided to a separate room—named the cyber range—where they participated in a live attack. A cybersecurity MDC professor guided the students through a step-by-step process where they were encouraged to take notes and consider the various strategies in eradicating malware. A key feature of a cyber range is its isolated network, allowing users to detect various threats within the computer system and minimize the breaching of personal information. This quality of the cyber range is something that cannot be done in the classroom and makes for a unique hands-on opportunity for cybersecurity students.
By traveling within the local community and seeking out various ways to learn practical knowledge from industry professionals, the CyberRaiders have been able to expand their own abilities.
“It just shows how far we’ve come with developing our skills—from learning the basics to using them in real-life scenarios,” junior Co-President of the Cybersecurity Club Riley Prescott said.
In its 2nd year, the Cybersecurity program has taken various accomplishments and looks forward to encoding cyber-awareness into the local community as the field grows.
