Duke Cyber Club Reaps the Rewards From Competition Circuit Victories

Duke Cyber, a student organization supported in part by Duke Engineering, has strengthened the school’s standing in cybersecurity after two victories in international competitions last year. That success led to an incredible experience for eight members of the club—the chance to attend Black Hat, one of the top cybersecurity conferences in the world.

Duke Cyber won first place among 23 teams in the Atlantic Council’s 2024 Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge in Austin, Texas, in January. The team then won the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge’s “international championship” in Washington, D.C., in March, where they placed first out of 43 teams, including all previous winners. Atlantic Council holds a series of competitions every year, open to any university in the world, for students to hone their skills in cybersecurity policy.

The club at Duke boasts more than 60 active members – about 30 percent of whom come from Duke Engineering – and is open to undergraduate and graduate students of all academic disciplines. Duke Engineering is known for developing students in cybersecurity; the online Master of Engineering (MEng) in Cybersecurity program was recently ranked No. 3 in the country.

“I am continually impressed by our students, who have developed thoughtful policies and impressive technical skills for these competitive national competitions,” said Kim Kotlar, adjunct associate professor in the Engineering Graduate and Professional Programs and Duke Cyber’s founding mentor.

During the year, club lessons are peer-taught by executive board members and Duke faculty. Duke Cyber also hosts speakers, networking events and pre-professional programming for its members. These preparations allow students to not only compete for jobs once they graduate, but also compete for prizes at international competitions.

Policy and Technical Sides of Cybersecurity

Duke Cyber is split into two groups, the cyber policy and cyber tech tracks. The policy track competes in several Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenges each year, where teams of four simulate a mock scenario to develop policy recommendations for the U.S. National Security Council in the aftermath of a cyber catastrophe.

The club sent two policy teams, the Duke Phishermen and Duke’s Defenders, to the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge’s flagship event in Washington, and the Phishermen received the top prize.

But the policy experts aren’t the only ones earning accolades.

The tech track focuses on the technical side of cybersecurity and competes in capture-the-flag-style challenges to develop offensive and defensive cybersecurity skills. In the 2023-24 academic year, they competed in the National Cyber League and placed in the top 10 percent of teams nationally.

Duke Cyber Attends International Conference

For winning the Washington competition, Duke Cyber received eight complimentary passes to Black Hat, one of the top cybersecurity events in the world, held in Las Vegas in August.

Students learned about the current challenges and newest developments in cybersecurity from noted professionals, including the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the founder of the encrypted messaging app Signal.

“It’s been my dream to attend Black Hat since I was in high school, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to attend this year,” said Shristi Sharma, president of Duke Cyber and a computer science student. “My peers and I are really inspired after attending the conference and seeing the opportunities, potential and growth in the cybersecurity sector.”

Peter Banyas, an electrical and computer engineering student, called Black Hat a mix of thrills and terrors due to the many examples of cutting-edge cyber exploitation techniques.

“I was in awe as presenters demonstrated techniques that destroy our fundamental assumptions of security,” Banyas said. “Beyond the lectures, it was wonderful to meet with innovators and experts in the field, some of whom shared fascinating visions of the future. I’m incredibly grateful to Duke and Cyber 9/12 for making it possible for us to attend.”

Another key takeaway from the conference was understanding the ramifications of generative AI on cybersecurity. AI can provide powerful tools to detect threats, but it also introduces new risks from attackers as well. 

“The evolution of phishing techniques enhanced by AI was both alarming and intriguing,” said Isabella Paliotta, a computer science and philosophy student. “It was interesting to observe the varying perspectives on emerging AI threats, but the diversity of opinions emphasized the complexity and uncharted territory of AI-related security challenges.”