¹û¶³´«Ã½

The University of North Georgia (¹û¶³´«Ã½) finished second out of 631 universities and colleges in the 2021 that wrapped up Jan. 4.

¹û¶³´«Ã½ tallied 152,239 points as two Georgia universities stood atop the standings. Georgia Institute of Technology took first place with 234,982 points.

Oregon State University, fellow senior military college Texas A&M University, and the University of Central Florida rounded out the top five.

"This is ¹û¶³´«Ã½'s fourth top-three finish in a row in the NSA Codebreaker Challenge, following victories in 2019 and 2020 and a third-place finish in 2018," Dr. Bryson Payne, ¹û¶³´«Ã½ professor of cybersecurity and coordinator of student cyber programs, said.

The scenario for this year's challenge involved responding to a cyber attack on the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Sector (DIBS). The DIBS, according to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, "is the worldwide industrial complex that enables research and development, as well as design, production, delivery, and maintenance of military weapons systems, subsystems, and components or parts, to meet U.S. military requirements."

Payne said the challenge called upon 10 different cyber skill sets needed for students to determine how the attack unfolded, if other organizations were affected, and how to reverse the malware.

Participating in the NSA Codebreaker Challenge the past three years has helped me develop skills which are highly sought after in the business of cybersecurity and set me apart from other candidates.

Rocco Ranallo

Fall 2021 ¹û¶³´«Ã½ graduate with a degree in cybersecurity

"Participating in the NSA Codebreaker Challenge the past three years has helped me develop skills which are highly sought after in the business of cybersecurity and set me apart from other candidates," Ranallo said.

Alyssa Hunter, a senior from Young Harris, Georgia, pursuing a degree in cybersecurity, also completed seven tasks and thrived on problem-solving during the challenge.

"This competition has really improved my technical skills," Hunter said. "Some of the solutions are more challenging, and it helps me appreciate the different techniques we learn here at ¹û¶³´«Ã½."