St. John’s University students earn top finishes in regional cybersecurity competitions

Students from St. John’s University recently achieved notable results in two cybersecurity competitions, highlighting the university’s commitment to hands-on learning and real-world experience.

At a Capture the Flag (CTF) event sponsored by Amazon and hosted by Hofstra University in November, St. John’s students Lucas Daoust and Alyssa Meczkowska, competing as team CyberStorm Omega, secured third place among 19 teams. Another St. John’s team, CyberStorm Alpha—comprising Sean McGrory and Gabriel Paredes—finished fourth. The third-place finish earned Lucas and Alyssa a $2,000 prize. Participants represented nearly a dozen colleges and universities from the New York metropolitan area.

Both teams are part of the St. John’s chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), an organization that provides networking opportunities and professional development for computing students.

Prior to this event, several St. John’s students—including Alyssa Meczkowska, Gabriel Paredes, Lucas Daoust, Sean McGrory, Ayaan Bhattai, and Thomas Helton—competed at another CTF competition during the BSides NYC cybersecurity conference held at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan in October. The team placed third among participants that included industry professionals and over 1,000 attendees.

Capture the Flag competitions challenge participants to find hidden “flags” within cybersecurity puzzles using skills such as cryptography, forensics, reverse engineering, and web security. These events provide practical training by simulating real-world cyber threats in a competitive environment.

The Amazon-sponsored competition started with 19 teams before narrowing down to 10 finalists on November 2; final rounds took place on November 8–9. Rahul S. Karnik ’93SVC, ’96M.B.A., Adjunct Instructor at The Peter J. Tobin College of Business Department of Business Analytics and Information Systems led the St. John’s student teams.

Joan E. DeBello, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Division of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Science at The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies stated: “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.”