Cybersecurity students, faculty, and alumni from the University of North Georgia (UNG) secured eighth place out of over 570 colleges and universities in the 2024 National Security Agency (NSA) Codebreaker Challenge, which concluded on January 17. This marks the seventh consecutive year that UNG has ranked in the top eight, following a second-place finish the previous year.
The 2024 competition was won by Georgia Tech, another school in the University System of Georgia.
Most difficult challenge yet
Dr. Bryson Payne, professor of cybersecurity and director of the Institute for Cyber Operations, described this year’s challenge as the most difficult in the competition’s 12-year history. The scenario involved a foreign adversary breaching a defense contractor’s secure systems by stealing a hardware token, allowing them to compromise critical military hardware.
Participants were tasked with recovering files left by the attackers, reverse-engineering their malware, and finding a way to infiltrate the enemy systems.
Dr. Payne said, “The challenge demanded advanced skills in areas such as programming, forensics, networking, file systems, AI/ChatGPT-like systems, cryptography, and more.” He also noted the strong presence of two Georgia schools in the top 10, making it the seventh consecutive year for this achievement.
Third largest participants
UNG had the third-largest number of participants nationally, with 247 competitors—223 of whom were students—earning a total of 5,594 points. The university was one of two senior military colleges to make the top 10, alongside Texas A&M, which took sixth place.
Sawyer Shepherd, a junior from Marietta, Georgia, studying cybersecurity and president of the CyberHawks student club, expressed admiration for UNG’s continued strong participation in the event, highlighting the valuable learning experiences it provides.
“You learn a lot about your technology and how to problem-solve,” Shepherd said. “I’ve always loved learning how things work, breaking things, and putting them back together.”
Leader in cybersecurity
UNG’s impressive performance in the NSA Codebreaker Challenge aligns with the university’s strategic vision, as outlined in President Michael Shannon’s white paper “Bold Forward: Running into Our Calling,” which focuses on advancing UNG’s role in national security.
Stewart Cates, a junior from Rome, Georgia, pursuing a degree in cybersecurity, chose UNG due to the strength of its cyber program and the resources available through the Institute for Cyber Operations. He found the challenge both motivating and validating.
“It proved to me that the things I’m learning in my classes and through certifications are not going to waste,” Cates said. “I’m able to use them right here, right now.”
James Goble, a Rome, Georgia resident and dual-enrollment student planning to pursue a cybersecurity degree at UNG, cited CyberStart America as one of his first exposures to cybersecurity.
UNG leads Georgia’s efforts to encourage high school students to participate in the competition. Goble found the NSA Codebreaker Challenge to be a significant step up in difficulty.
“It was really fun. It was definitely one of the most challenging things I’ve done,” Goble said. “I learned a lot.”
