St. John’s Students Excel in Pair of Cybersecurity Competitions

Students in St. John’s University’s undergraduate cyber security systems and homeland security degree programs excelled recently at an Amazon-sponsored competition designed to unearth security vulnerabilities and promote real-time problem solving.

The team of Lucas Daoust and Alyssa Meczkowska, known as CyberStorm Omega, placed third among 19 teams at a Capture the Flag (CTF) competition hosted by Hofstra University in November. Finishing right behind them in fourth place were Sean McGrory and Gabriel Paredes, who represented St. John’s as team CyberStorm Alpha. 

Lucas and Alyssa shared a $2,000 prize. Teams of two to four players from nearly a dozen colleges and universities in the New York metropolitan area took part. The St. John’s teams are members of the school’s chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

Earlier, a team of St. John’s students—including Alyssa, Gabriel, Lucas, Sean, and sophomore Ayaan Bhattai, and sophomore Thomas Helton—took part in a similar CTF competition at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, NY, part of the prestigious BSides NYC  cybersecurity conference. The St. John’s team finished third in the October event, which brought together dozens of industry thought leaders and more than 1,000 attendees.

“Events like these give you added learning and a better understanding of your work field,” said Lucas, a sophomore majoring in cyber security systems at The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies. “They provide a foundation for what you will do in your career and help solidify the knowledge you have acquired.”

Capture the Flag challenges participants to uncover “flags”—secret text strings—embedded inside cybersecurity puzzles. Players are challenged to apply ethical hacking skills to solve problems related to cryptography, forensics, reverse engineering, and web security in real time. As players outwit their opponents, they earn points, with the highest-scoring teams winning.

Students gain hands-on experience by simulating real-world cyber threats while building practical skills in a gamified, but competitive, environment. 

The Amazon-sponsored event is an industry-recognized competition that draws top regional computer science talent. The original 19 teams were trimmed to 10 on November 2, with the remaining teams competing in the final on November 8–9. The St. John’s students were led by Rahul S. Karnik ’93SVC, ’96M.B.A., Adjunct Instructor, Department of Business Analytics and Information Systems, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business. 

“This competition encouraged me to explore domains outside of my comfort zone and resulted in an improvement in my skills,” Alyssa, a junior majoring in computer science, said. “Putting yourself out there in an environment such as this, and surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals, increases the career opportunities you can come across.”

Joan E. DeBello, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Division of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Science, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, stated that the University is committed to providing students with the best opportunities to challenge their skills in competitions such as these.

“As St. John’s ACM student chapter moderator, I always look for opportunities for our students to showcase their expertise collaborating with fellow Johnnies and networking with students at different colleges,” Dr. DeBello said. “The division and College will continue to support students from St. John’s ACM in such competitions while also hosting workshops, speaker events, and more.”