Tennessee Tech CEROC teams take first place in regional testing competition, advance to global finals
Students from Tennessee Tech’s Cybersecurity Education, Research and Outreach Center
(CEROC) placed first in the central region Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition
(CPTC). From Left: Grant Palasak (Team Captain), Landon Byrge, Landon Foister, Landon
Crabtree, Lance Young, Joseph Dunlap, Travis Lee (Coach) and Tom Kopchak (CPTC Competition
Director & Founder).
Student competitors from Tennessee Tech University’s Cybersecurity Education, Research
and Outreach Center (CEROC) claimed a first place finish in the regional 2024 Collegiate
Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC), held recently on Tech's campus.
It marks CEROC's first time taking home the competition's top prize. The students
will now advance to the global finals competition, held in Rochester, N.Y. in January.
CPTC is a collegiate-focused cyber offense competition where teams engage in simulated
penetration testing exercises. Competitors work to identify vulnerabilities, exploit
potential weaknesses and assess security risks within provided systems, which often
include realistic business infrastructure.
The competition emphasizes skills in penetration testing, threat identification, vulnerability
assessment and reporting. Teams accumulate points by identifying and documenting vulnerabilities,
with additional points awarded for high-quality, professional reporting of their findings.
The goal is to identify as many vulnerabilities as possible within the allotted time,
providing a realistic simulation of a penetration test engagement.
Throughout the year, Tech fields teams in various cyber competitions, including CPTC,
Hivestorm, Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, Cyber Resiliency and Measurement
Challenge and the individual games of the National Cyber League. This year, a new
competition interest group was formed to help students prepare more effectively for
the environments and challenges these competitions present.
The 2024 CPTC team is coached by Travis Lee, cybersecurity technologist at Tech, and
captained by Tech student Grant Palasak. Team members include Landon Byrge, Landon
Crabtree, Landon Foister, Lance Young, and Joseph (Nate) Dunlap.
"CPTC is a fantastic competition that our students have been preparing for since the
start of the semester," said Lee. "They have been practicing weekly and have exceeded
my expectations. I am very happy that their hard work and dedication are paying off
and have allowed them to proceed to CPTC finals."
Palasak added, "I am so proud of this team. This is the first time a Tennessee Tech
team has won the regional competition, and I am so fortunate to be a part of it. We
had a unique combination of work ethic, dedication and natural talent. We are all
looking forward to doing our very best at finals but, no matter what happens there,
I could not have picked a better team to be a part of."
A longtime leader in cybersecurity issues, Tech was selected by the National Security
Agency (NSA) and National Science Foundation (NSF) to deliver the Tennessee GenCyber
on Wheels program, building upon its long-standing GenCyber summer camps. Tech also
hosts the first and largest CyberCorps SFS program in the state as well as the Department
of Defense Cyber Service Academy. The university is recognized as a center of academic
excellence in cyber defense education by the NSA and is home of the Golden Eagle Cyber
Certificate program, a dual enrollment program allowing high school students to take
college-level cybersecurity courses contributing to their post-secondary work.
CEROC focuses on K-14 cybersecurity education programs, research on emerging cybersecurity
topics, and outreach programs to academia, government, and industry stakeholders.
Learn more at www.tntech.edu/ceroc or by emailing ceroc@tntech.edu.
