University of Central Florida’s A Team with A Dream secures gold at the DOE’s 10th CyberForce Competition®

Newswise — Students gained hands-on practical cybersecurity experience and recognition by securing a wind energy generation plant against simulated cyberattacks.

A Team with A Dream of the University of Central Florida won the 10^th CyberForce Competition^®, a workforce development cybersecurity competition led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER) and DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory.

Ninety-one teams from 71 universities and colleges across the United States participated in the latest CyberForce Competition, testing their cybersecurity skills and critical thinking abilities in an intense, eight-hour competition in St. Charles, Ill., on Nov. 9.

“I want to congratulate A Team with A Dream from the University of Central Florida on their success in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2024 CyberForce Competition.” — Puesh M. Kumar, Director of CESER

This year’s mission was to defend a virtual wind energy generation plant against simulated cyberattacks of unknown origin and extent. Consequences of the various breaches included power outages and cascading dependency failures.

A Team with A Dream from the University of Central Florida maintained their composure and successfully defended their virtual cyber-physical infrastructure. In addition to their technical know-how, their creative thinking and soft skills provided them the highest score, and they were hailed as champions.

In addition to A Team with A Dream, two other teams claimed spots on the podium. Congratulations to all three winners:

• First Place: A Team with A Dream – University of Central Florida 
• Second Place: CyberEagles – Tennessee Technological University 
• Third Place: University of Texas at San Antonio – University of Texas at San Antonio 

“I want to congratulate A Team with A Dream from the University of Central Floridaon their success in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2024 CyberForce Competition,” said Puesh M. Kumar, director of CESER. ​“This year’s competition focused on wind energy, where we increasingly see a need to integrate cybersecurity in innovative ways. These students showed their ability to work collaboratively and think outside the box to secure their infrastructure. I want to commend them for an outstanding performance and hope they consider careers in energy cybersecurity.”

“The CyberForce Competition is still my favorite thing to watch and be a part of,” said Amanda Theel, workforce development group leader in Argonne’s Strategic Security Sciences division. ​“You get to see the mixture of emotions from confusion, happiness and irritation to that lightbulb moment. We get the front row seat, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else to experience that firsthand.”

For every team that competed, the 2024 CyberForce Competition is a major step toward a career in cybersecurity and vital preparation for real-world responsibilities defending the nation’s energy infrastructure.

The pressing need for a skilled cybersecurity workforce and leadership in cybersecurity is why the DOE created the CyberForce^® Program. The program offers other opportunities to connect college students with the cybersecurity industry as well. Opportunities include the virtual Conquer the Hill competition series for solo competitors, career fairs and informational webinars. 

To learn more about the CyberForce Program, visit the CyberForce webpage at Department of Energy’s CyberForce Program.

The CyberForce program is primarily funded by DOE’s CESER Office with support from DOE’s Office of Electricity, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Grid Deployment Office, Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Argonne National Laboratory is the lead national laboratory hosting the CyberForce Program. Other laboratories that support the program are DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. Additional support is provided by industry and government sponsors, including Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Inductive Automation and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. 

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://​ener​gy​.gov/​s​c​ience.