Planet of Software
CyberPatriot
Four years in the national youth cyber defense competition, as my team's Windows specialist and then its captain, and second at the National Finals twice.
At a glance
- Status
- Completed
- When
- Sep 2022 – May 2026
- Role
- Windows specialist, then team captain and instructor
The story
CyberPatriot hands each team a set of deliberately broken computers and a clock. Find the vulnerabilities, close them, and do not break the services the scenario needs.
I competed all four years, as my team’s Windows specialist and then as its captain. We were national semifinalist runners-up in 2023 and 2024, then placed second at the National Finals twice, in 2025 and 2026 (CyberPatriot 17 had 1,406 teams), and first in the Cisco Networking Challenge both years.
I also taught it: about 200 students over two years, as a program instructor and on the staff of Troy CyberCamp. Along the way I earned the GIAC GFACT certification.