LBCSI Fall 2024 Newsletter

LBCSI

LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD CYBER SECURITY FALL 2024 NEWSLETTER

Foreword Since the start of the school year, LBCSI has kept busy. We’ve welcomed new students, competed in the first two rounds of CyberPatriot, and competed in the Cyber Battle of the Nordic-Baltics in Estonia for the third year. From participating in the National Cryptologic Foundation’s Cyber Feud, co-hosted by the Maryland STEM Festival, to hosting a new round of guest speakers, we are thrilled to show you what we’ve been up to lately!

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Cyber Battle of Nordic-Baltics 2024 From October 29th to November 3rd, members of LBCSI were in Tartu, Estonia for the Cyber Battle of Nordic Baltics for the 3rd consecutive year. This year’s team USA was composed of Casey Nazelrod ‘25, Emmett Omron ‘25, Matthew Kocorowski ‘26, Ryan Wachter ‘26, and Connor Counselman ‘26. The trip started with everyone flying into Frankfurt, then Tallinn, with a train to Tartu to finish the long journey. The next day, LBCSI met up with Andreas, our Estonian exchange student from March of this year, who helped us explore Tartu during our downtime.

On the third day, the team headed over to the University of Tartu for the Cyber Battle of The Nordic Baltics. The competition began promptly at 10am and ran until 5pm. Estonian singer and television host Karl-Erik Taukar began the nationally televised event with Phase 1 of the challenge. Each phase gave 120 or 90 minutes to solve the challenges, growing more difficult and complex than the last. After the competition, LBCSI met with Seth Wyngowski, a diplomat for the US Embassy in Tallinn, to discuss a variety of topics related to cybersecurity and career paths. Thank you to Seth Wyngowski and the US Embassy in Estonia for supporting us during our time in Tallinn.

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National Cryptologic Foundation: Cyber Feud On November 14th, ten members of LBCSI split into two teams to compete in the Maryland Stem festival’s Cyber Feud, run by the National Cryptologic Foundation and Maryland Stem Festival, hosted at Loyola Blakefield. The competition saw schools from 8 counties and Baltimore City answer cybersecurity-related trivia in a Family Feud format.

Congratulations to the Career and Technology Academy from Calvert Country for winning, and a special thanks to Phil Rogosky, Dr. Alisha Jordan, Christine Harding, Rebecca Diamond, Laura Nelson, James Walsh, Kennedy Taylor, and Darnell Washington for making the event happen.

Open House In October, members of the leadership team and others presented at Loyola Blakefield’s open house, showing off a revamped Internet of Things (IoT) City. Members talked to prospective parents and students about Loyola Blakefield’s cybersecurity club, and the school as a whole. Thank you to everyone who came to Open House, and we look forward to next year.

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Social Media Presentations On September 30th, Will Coyne ‘25 and Nathan Porter ‘27 went to Sacred Heart of Glyndon School to give a presentation to their middle school on internet safety, reputation, and finding common ground. We would like to thank Sacred Heart of Glyndon for inviting us, and providing such an attentive audience. If your middle/high school or one you know would like LBCSI members to give a digital awareness/safety presentation, please contact Will Coyne ‘25 (wccoyne2025@loyolablakefield.org) or Steve Morrill (smorrill@loyolablakefield.org).

Insignis Retreat On October 15th, beginner and returner members of LBCSI joined together for the Insignis Retreat. The Insignis Retreat is an after school experience that reflects on the year so far and the year ahead. The primary goal of the retreat encompassed the overarching themes of how members are joining something greater than themselves, and why. During the retreat, students participated in events such as a campus-wide scavenger hunt, dinner, and group discussions.

The event allowed the club to form a close-knit community, with new and returning members meeting each other for often the first time.

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Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot On October 25-27th and November 14-17th, teams from around the world competed in the Air Force Association’s (AFA) competition, CyberPatriot. Teams from around the world compete for a top prize of $50,000. Teams work over a four hour period to secure Windows, Linux, and Cisco systems with a team of 4-6 people. The top 12 teams from around the world get an all expenses paid trip to Bethesda, MD for a chance at $50,000. LBCSI has 12 high school and 3 middle school teams competing in CyberPatriot, with teams leading the Maryland rankings.

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St. Ignatius Academy Service On October 9th, Will Coyne ‘25, Emmett Omron ‘25, James Ballard ‘26, Will Ballard ‘26. Kai Cooke ‘26, Christian Tony ‘26, and Connor Counselman ‘26 went to St. Ignatius Academy to help set up their new computers for student use. Thank you to St. Ignatius Academy for giving LBCSI the opportunity to help.

Alumni Spotlight Jack Wachter ‘24 Jack Wachter, a freshman at the Georgia Institute of Technology, recently competed in HackGT 11, a flagship hackathon with over 1,500 competitors. He and two other Georgia Tech students created a software called AerLock that secures all of a person’s devices with the click of a button. The team won first place in the Analytics Arcade track of the competition that focuses on innovation through data-driven solutions. “We are continuing the project and hoping to develop it into an EDR platform as a part of the CreateX that we entered after the completion of the competition.” You can read more about the project at https://www.aerlock.co/.

Anshul Chelapurath ‘23 Anshul Chelapurath, a sophomore at the Georgia Institute of Technology, recently became a teacher assistant for CS 1332 Data Structures and Algorithms, facilitating the teaching to 1000+ students. Over the summer, he also did network emulation work at Sandia National Laboratories’ Minimega, a nuclear research lab.

Sawyer Jones ‘21 Sawyer Jones, a senior at University of Maryland College Park, recently had a software engineering internship at T Rowe Price over the summer, and will be starting full time after his graduation.

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Guest Speaker Series Charlie Hale ‘23 On November 11th, LBCSI welcomed former member Charlie Hale ‘23 back to campus to talk to members about his experience in LBCSI, and the lessons he’s learned in his time at the Naval Academy. Charlie is currently a Midshipman 3rd class in the U.S. Naval Academy, with a focus on cyber intelligence. Charlie was also a five year member of LBCSI, as well as a member of the leadership team, serving as Field Operations Lead during his senior year at Loyola. Thank you to Charlie for returning to LBCSI and talking to members about your adventures!

Constellation Energy On November 13th, LBCSI hosted members of Constellation Energy’s senior cyber leadership. Bill Edwards, Kathy Bosse, and Daniel Bart talked to members about their careers and how cybersecurity is a vast field that multiple careers rely upon it to do their jobs, and opened up for questions at the end. Thank you to Mr. Edwards, Ms. Bosse, and Mr. Bart for coming to campus and presenting to our members.

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LBC2 The 8th edition of LBC2 will be coming to Loyola Blakefield on March 29, 2025, from 9 AM - 3PM. LBC2 is a Capture the Flag (CTF)-style event built completely by student members of LBCSI. The entire day is free for all competitors, with a complimentary breakfast and lunch being served. LBC2 has two divisions: beginner, a division for those new to CTF competitions, and advanced, a division for the more experienced competitors. LBC2 will feature the return of IoT City, a town built by Emmett Omron ‘25 and Casey Nazelrod ‘25 that is designed to replicate real world cybersecurity devices in a safe-to-use environment. If you or someone you know is interested in competing in LBC2, visit https://lbc2.org/ for more info about the competition. Please reach out to lbc2staff@gmail.com with any questions.

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Certifications Many LBCSI members have industry standard certifications that have prepared them in the field of cybersecurity and computer science. We’re proud of our Dons, and we look forward to what they’ll do!

Sponsor Thank You A continued thank you goes to the Edward St. John Foundation President, Ms. Sharon Akers. We appreciate the continued interest in the development of our cyber students, and we look forward to continuing our work with these sponsors in the future.

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Thank you all for taking the time to read this year’s 2024 Fall Newsletter! Your continued interest and support is what makes our efforts possible. As always, Roll Dons Roll!

Thanks again, Will Coyne ‘25, Ryan Wachter ‘26, Nathan Porter ‘27, Mr. Stephen Morrill, The entirety of Loyola Blakefield’s Cyber Science Initiative

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