Tennessee Tech's CEROC takes first place in regional cyber defense competition, advances to nationals
Students from Tennessee Tech’s Cybersecurity Education, Research and Outreach Center
(CEROC) won first place at the recent Southeastern Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition
in Tampa, Fla. and will advance to the national championship.
Tennessee Tech University’s Cybersecurity Education, Research, and Outreach Center
(CEROC) team won first place at the Southeastern Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition
(SECCDC) in Tampa, Fla. and will advance to the national championship on April 25–27.
The regional competition featured eight teams competing for the top spot.
The Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition tasks teams with taking on the role of an
IT security organization with the responsibility for defending a simulated corporate
network. Competitors must maintain critical services, respond to cyberattacks and
implement security measures while managing business operations. The competition emphasizes
skills in network defense, incident response system administration and business continuity.
Teams earn points by successfully protecting their systems, completing business tasks
and responding effectively to threats, while points may be deducted for service downtime
or security breaches. The goal is to balance security and functionality in a high-pressure,
real-world cybersecurity scenario.
Throughout the year, Tech fields teams in various cyber competitions, including the
Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC), Hivestorm, SECCDC, CRAM and the
individual games of the National Cyber League. This year, a competition interest group
was even formed to help students prepare more effectively for the environments and
challenges these competitions present.
The 2025 SECCDC featured a blend of both seasoned competitors and newcomers. The team,
captained by Gabriel Adams, included: Landon Byrge, Nate Dunlap, John Bretlinger,
Landon Foister, Carter Haney, Joey Milton and Trey Owen.
“Our team is extremely grateful to have won CCDC regionals, especially with all the
other great programs and schools who were present," said Adams. "We are honored to
represent both Tennessee Tech and the southeastern region at nationals for the first
time in Tech history. We couldn’t have accomplished this without the help of our alternates
who assisted in developing two quality mock competitions in preparation. [We also
thank] Eric Brown and Travis Lee for giving complete and unwavering support to the
team, and Jeremy Potts for being a great coach throughout our time traveling.”
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 is
recognized as a center of academic excellence in cyber defense education by the NSA
and hosts the first and largest CyberCorps SFS program in the state, along with the
Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy.
The university is also home to 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-20 cybersecurity education programs, research in emerging cybersecurity
topics and outreach programs to stakeholders in academia, government and industry.
Learn more at www.tntech.edu/ceroc or by emailing ceroc@tntech.edu.