LEXINGTON, Va. February 27, 2024 — Virginia Military Institute hosted the 7th annual Commonwealth Cyber Fusion and Virginia Cyber Cup Competition, a state-wide collegiate cyber security competition on February 23-24. The invitation-only event is for colleges that are National Security Agency (NSA) / Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-designated National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. It was organized by the Center for Leadership and Ethics as part of its strategic engagement initiatives, co-hosted with the Virginia Cyber Range and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative.  

VMI founded this cybersecurity event in 2017 at the suggestion of Bryce Bucklin ’17, a computer science major, when the Commonwealth of Virginia sought to create a statewide cybersecurity competition. Sen. Mark Warner serves as honorary chairman. 

Participating were about 150 students with 30 of their faculty advisors representing 21 colleges in Virginia: Danville Community College, ECPI, George Mason University, George Washington University, Germanna Community College, James Madison University, Liberty University, Laurel Ridge Community College, Marymount University, Northern Virginia Community College, Old Dominion University, Radford University, Regent University, Tidewater Community College, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Peninsula Community, Virginia State University, VMI, Virginia Tech, and Virginia Western Community College. Each college was allowed to bring six competing students along with two observer students.   

VMI cadet competitors were Reid Cox ’24, Daniel Galvez ’24, Pierce Harvey ’24, Braedyn Rose ’24, Michael Poe ’25, and Raj Singh ’25.   

Friday’s activities included a keynote speech by Oki Mek, Microsoft chief information security officer for the Federal Civilian Sector, and a veteran with a 20-year career inside the federal government; a job fair; an employer panel discussion regarding real-world advice for students; and a faculty/industry round table discussion hosted by representatives from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative. This year’s competition included 44 challenges, the most ever for this competition. 

The winners of the capture-the-flag-style Virginia Cyber Cup competition for the four-year college division are: George Mason University in first, University of Virginia finishing second, and Virginia Tech in third. For the community college division: Tidewater Community College was the winner, followed by Northern Virginia Community College in second, and Virginia Western Community College in third. George Mason University was the overall winner and received the Commonwealth Cyber Fusion Cup.  

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE