Duke Cyber Wins Third Place in National Cyber Policy Competition

Over Fall Break, members of Duke Cyber, a student-led cyber policy and cybersecurity organization, won third place in the Atlantic Council's Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, a prestigious national competition that tests students' ability to develop policy recommendations in response to a fictional cyber catastrophe.

The Duke Phishermen, an undergraduate team consisting of Alistair Simmons, Atharva Vispute, Shristi Sharma, and Peter Banyas, became the first undergraduate Duke team in history to make it to the finals of the competition. In a previous year, a Duke graduate student team also won the national competition. The Duke Phishermen’s coaches, Kim Kotlar and Mark Kholodenko, played a critical role in the team's success, providing valuable guidance and support throughout the competition.

The Cyber 9/12 Challenge is a unique competition that tests students' knowledge of cyber policy and strategy. In this three-round competition, teams are presented with an increasingly complex fictional cyber crisis scenario and must develop policy recommendations at every stage to respond to and mitigate the crisis. Their response must address the national security, international law, economic, and political implications of the crisis. According to the Atlantic Council, the competition is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of the challenges associated with managing tradeoffs during a cyber crisis.

"Duke Cyber Club and Team, now in their fifth year, continues to perform extraordinarily well in national-level cyber policy competitions," said Kim Kotlar, one of the team's founding coaches and mentors. "One of the most fun elements of working with such bright students is their diversity that allows them to bring unique perspectives and insights to solve problems."

"Duke University is so fortunate to have a strong student-led cyber organization," Kotlar continued. "The teams have historically placed well in national cyber competitions and this year our undergraduates took third place in what was a very stiff competition. The Duke Cyber Club has always represented themselves and Duke with the highest standards of excellence and commitment. Just as importantly, they continue to build a caring and supportive community while enhancing their knowledge of cyber and policy."

Duke Cyber is advised by Professor David Hoffman and sponsored by the Sanford School of Public Policy, the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy (AGS), Duke Tech Policy, and the Duke Office of Information Technology (OIT). The club's mission is to provide informal interdisciplinary educational development to Duke students on technology topics; to cultivate a network of undergraduate and graduate students through speaker events, competitions, and social events; and to foster a greater understanding of the purpose, roles, and implications of 21st century technology. Duke Cyber is also the proud home of Duke's competitive Cyber Policy and Cybersecurity Teams.

The Duke Cyber Club is a valuable asset to the Duke community and its success in the Cyber 9/12 Challenge is a testament to the hard work and dedication of its members and coaches. The club is preparing to send more teams to participate in the next Cyber 9/12 competition, which will be held in Austin in January. The Duke community is proud of the Duke Cyber Club's accomplishments and looks forward to its continued success.