The Monmouth University Cyber Hawks recently competed in the latest National Cyber League (NCL) Capture-The-Flag (CTF) competition, with junior computer science student Ikey Sasson earning the top spot among over 7,800 individual participants. Sasson’s CTF performance scored a perfect 3,000 points with 99.34% accuracy. This was Monmouth’s inaugural appearance in the competition.
“We are proud of Ikey for his outstanding performance and consequent success among cybersecurity scholars nationwide,” said Joe Coyle, Ph.D., professor and dean of the School of Science. “This achievement reflects not only his technical skill and dedication, but also the strength of Monmouth’s hands-on, forward-thinking approach to preparing students for real-world challenges. We strive to prepare students for success, and national accomplishments like this demonstrate how our students are preparing to shape the future of cybersecurity and quantum computing.”
A CTF competition is a cybersecurity tournament that tests the real-world capabilities of practitioners and students, according to Brian Callahan, Ph.D., specialist professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering and advisor of the Cyber Hawks. Participants compete in various challenges—including Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), digital forensics, password cracking, and exploiting software—to collect hidden “flags” across the digital landscape.
“CTF tournaments like the NCL provide examples of the kinds of real-world challenges and tasks that cybersecurity practitioners engage with every day. These hands-on activities bolster the book learning, industry certifications, and other theoretical work we do in the classroom,” said Callahan. “That way, cybersecurity students at Monmouth bring the best of both worlds: strong knowledge of the field and proof they don’t just know—they can do as well—and contribute to their organization on day one of the job.”
The NCL awards its top 500 individual performers with challenge coins as recognition of their achievement. Ten additional Monmouth students won “coins”—prizes awarded for top performances—for the Cyber Hawks, including Aaila Arif, Mike Montulet, Jenna Esposito, Robert O’Grady, Justin Veltri, Jodan Elysee, Maheen Hanif Ghaffar, Dhrumil Patel, Raul Cortinas, and Michael Sherrer.
Monmouth’s Cyber Hawks are sponsored by the newly established Monmouth Cybersecurity Research Center, a cutting-edge facility dedicated to advancing research, education, and innovation in quantum computing and cybersecurity.
The National Cyber League is a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals by providing high school and college students, as well as their coaches, an online, safe platform of real-world cybersecurity challenges. Its mission is to build pathways for students that lead to successful career placements in the cybersecurity field.