Student team from M State competes in Minnesota State Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition

(Fargo, ND) -- A team of students from M State competed in the recent 2023 Minnesota State Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. Teams in the event battled controlled cybersecurity ‘threats’ to rack up points and vie for top ranking. The student team was one of eight from across the state competing. The event is sponsored annually by the Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence and was hosted this year by Alexandria Technical and Community College. Nearly 80 students participated.

M State student participants included Ryan Cadieux, Ian Johnson, Tye Majors, Bawi Mody, Rafael Murillo and Reid Starzl. The students are enrolled in the college’s Information Technology, Computer Programming, and Cybersecurity programs.

They were joined by Srijan Maskey, a Minnesota State University Moorhead student, and M State Faculty Advisor Tim Preuss.

A representative from M State says the team did not qualify to advance to the regional competition and viewed participation in the event as a "learning experience".