{"671815":{"#nid":"671815","#data":{"type":"news","title":"CIPHER Researchers Take Second Place in Southeastern Cyber Cup","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThree GTRI researchers made it to the finals and came home with second place in the \u0022\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/cybercup\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESoutheastern Cyber Cup\u0022\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E competition, a multi-day, national-level, higher education competition and cyber hacking event held last month. The three researchers are Justin Hsu, Garrett Brown, and Drew Petry. Their team, named the \u0022Clockcycles,\u0022 was one of the 15 finalists in the event. Georgia Tech made an impressive mark, with eight teams among the final 15.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe Southeastern Cyber Cup is hosted by Georgia Tech\u2019s Office of Information Technology in partnership with Deloitte. The virtual hacking event is open to cybersecurity and IT students and professionals and is held to generate enthusiasm and excitement around cybersecurity careers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAs part of the annual competitors are challenged to find a \u0022flag\u0022: a string of text. The flags for each challenge are submitted online to receive points. Challenge categories include network, web, crypto, miscellaneous, forensics, and reverse engineering.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy Is the Southeastern Cyber Cup Important for GT\/GTRI?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe Southeastern Cup and similar competitions are among the many ways that Georgia Tech and GTRI can showcase the skills of its researchers and aid in their professional development. The team\u2019s Southeastern Cyber Cup win also indicates GTRI\u0027s role as a leader in the field of cybersecurity.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cHistorically, CTF (Capture the Flag) competitions are a practical way to sharpen the skills that any cybersecurity researcher\/enthusiast may utilize during their career. If you\u2019re interested in cybersecurity, CTFs are a great way to add new tools to your toolbox, as I often find myself picking up new skills during the course of such competitions,\u201d Brown shared.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe Clockcycles team undoubtedly got the opportunity to sharpen their skills during the competition. Hsu shared that he and his team \u201cstayed up for at least 20+ hours straight,\u0022 participating in each event round. The time commitment and dedication certainly paid off in the end!\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGT\/GTRI\u0027s Impact on CTF Competitions\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGTRI routinely has a group of researchers that participate in CTF competitions. In 2021, Petry and his team had an impressive win at the Hack-a-Sat 2 competition. In 2022, Petry and Hsu traveled to an east coast naval facility as part of a GTRI team that competed in person at an invitation-only event held by the US Navy, \u0022Maritime Militia CTF.\u0022 Their team was awarded a physical flag to bring back to GTRI, which they hung up as a trophy.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGTRI\u0027s dedication to these competitions hasn\u0027t gone unnoticed. At a CTF in 2022, GTRI received a letter of appreciation from the Naval Surface Warfare Center commending their performance. The Clockcyles\u0027 win at the Southeastern Cup is just one example of GTRI\u0027s impact as a research organization.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMeet the dedicated team members who brought home second place!\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJustin Hsu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EJustin Hsu is a Research Scientist in GTRI\u2019S CIPHER (Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research) Lab, Software Assurance Branch. Hsu\u0027s work includes looking at and working towards developing tools for software security testing and vulnerability analysis\/assessments. He received a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Shorter University, and an M.S. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. Hsu has spent the majority of his professional career in software development. He previously worked at the ELSYS (Electronic Systems Laboratory) and shared that he moved to CIPHER after attending a seminar that rekindled his interest in cybersecurity.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0022I\u2019ve been interested in cybersecurity since I was young, probably watching the movie \u2018Hackers\u2019 one too many times, and spent the majority of my career doing software development. But after hearing someone talk at a Friday Morning Seminar about their research work on malware, I was reminded of my interest in cybersecurity and wound up making the move from ELSYS to CIPHER,\u0022 Hsu shared.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThis was the first year Hsu participated in the Southeastern Cyber Cup, but he has participated in CTFs with fellow CIPHER colleagues since 2021. To date, he\u0027s competed in about six different events, including ones sponsored by the U.S. Navy (HACKtheMACHINE, HACKtheMACHINE Unmanned) and the U.S. Air Force\/Space Force (Hack-a-Sat, Hack-a-Sat 2, and Hack-a-Sat 3).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDrew Petry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDrew Petry works as a Research Engineer in the Embedded System Vulnerability Division (ESVD) of CIPHER. Petry\u2019s work focuses on the reverse engineering and security assessment of embedded systems and cyber EW (Electronic Warfare) techniques. He received a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2010. In 2014, he also received his M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EPetry has spent the past fourteen years as a professional research engineer at GTRI, working in the embedded system security and vulnerability field. He shared that he\u2019s always been drawn to embedded systems because he \u0022enjoys interacting with low-level hardware and \u2018bare-metal\u2019 code.\u201d Bare metal programming is the process of programming directly on the hardware without using an operating system or middleware.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOutside of the inaugural Southeastern Cyber Cup competition, Petry competes in capture-the-flag competitions yearly. The events he\u2019s competed in while representing GTRI include the annual U.S. Air\/Space Force Hack-a-sat CTFs and the U.S. Navy Hack the Machine cybersecurity competitions.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGarrett Brown\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGarrett Brown is a Research Scientist in the Embedded Cyber Techniques (ECT) branch of the ESVD at CIPHER. He primarily works on vulnerability discovery and analysis of embedded systems. Brown received his B.S. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBrown shared that he found his passion in this field after participating in the VIP (Vertically Integrated Project) program while at Georgia Tech as an undergraduate student. During this program, he was a part of the Embedded Systems Cyber Security (ESCS) team, which gave him his \u0022first taste of the work [he] would soon come to love.\u0022\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0022I believe cybersecurity practitioners can improve the lives of many around the world, and I\u0027d like to be a part of whatever positive impact we can make,\u0022 shared Brown when asked why he was passionate about his work.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWhile this was Brown\u0027s first time competing in the Southeastern Cyber Cup, he is not a stranger to competitions. He\u0027s previously competed in other CTFs as part of the CIPHER team for competitions such as the Hack-a-Sat and HACKtheMACHINE events.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWhen asked how he felt about their team\u0027s award, he shared, \u0022I felt both relief and disappointment--relief that I could finally go to sleep and disappointment that we got second place instead of first!\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECongratulations Clockcycles team!\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter: Madison McNair (madison.mcnair@gtri.gatech.edu)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPhotographer: Christopher Moore\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EGTRI Communications\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).\u202fFounded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Emillion of problem-solving research annually for government and industry.\u202fGTRI\u0027s renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThree GTRI researchers made it to the finals and came home with second place in the \u0022\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/cybercup\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESoutheastern Cyber Cup\u0022\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E competition, a multi-day, national-level, higher education competition and cyber hacking event held last month. The three researchers are Justin Hsu, Garrett Brown, and Drew Petry. \u003Cspan\u003EThe Southeastern Cyber Cup is hosted by Georgia Tech\u2019s Office of Information Technology in partnership with Deloitte. The virtual hacking event is open to cybersecurity and IT students and professionals and is held to generate enthusiasm and excitement around cybersecurity careers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Three GTRI researchers take second place in the Southeastern Cyber Cup, a multi-day, national-level, higher education competition and cyber hacking event, hosted by Georgia Tech\u2019s Office of Information Technology in partnership with Deloitte."}],"uid":"35832","created_gmt":"2024-01-03 15:08:13","changed_gmt":"2024-01-03 15:16:15","author":"Michelle Gowdy","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-01-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-01-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672652":{"id":"672652","type":"image","title":"GTRI-CIPHER researchers","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EA photo of GTRI-CIPHER researchers. (Photo Credit: Christopher Moore).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1704294312","gmt_created":"2024-01-03 15:05:12","changed":"1704294403","gmt_changed":"2024-01-03 15:06:43","alt":"GTRI-CIPHER researchers","file":{"fid":"255929","name":"2023_1215_PHOTO__Southeastern Cyber Cup_110_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/01\/03\/2023_1215_PHOTO__Southeastern%20Cyber%20Cup_110_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/01\/03\/2023_1215_PHOTO__Southeastern%20Cyber%20Cup_110_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2776510,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/01\/03\/2023_1215_PHOTO__Southeastern%20Cyber%20Cup_110_0.jpg?itok=Gj7n1zW9"}}},"media_ids":["672652"],"groups":[{"id":"1276","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"166902","name":"science and technology"},{"id":"341","name":"innovation"},{"id":"61371","name":"Hackathon"},{"id":"1404","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"193341","name":"southeastern cyber cup"},{"id":"62761","name":"Deloitte"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E(Interim) Director of Communications\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMichelle Gowdy\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMichelle.Gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E404-407-8060\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michelle.gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}