Highlights

  • The UCF Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition team placed first at the 2026 Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, where students defended a fictional company 麻豆精品 S檚 network from live cyberattacks while maintaining operations.

  • The win marks UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 ninth first-place finish at the regional competition since 2013.

  • The team swept all three category awards: Best in Uptime Service, Best in Business and Best in Defense.

Under a high-stakes, simulated cyberattack and mounting pressure, the UCF Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition (C3) team proved it can defend, adapt and outperform 麻豆精品 S� earning first place at the 2026 Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC).

The team rose above nine competitors, including Tennessee Tech University, Clemson University, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. With the win, UCF advances to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, which will be held virtually next month.

Twelve students make up this year 麻豆精品 S檚 C3 team: sophomore information technology (IT) majors Gabriel Edwards and Maksim Shostak; junior IT majors Logan Autry, Anthony Donnelly, Joseph Durand, Adam Raczynski and Jonathan Styles; senior IT major Ardian Peach; sophomore computer science major Tyler Waddell; junior computer science major Benjamin Williams; cyber security and privacy master 麻豆精品 S檚 student Andy Pompura 麻豆精品 S�23; and senior prelaw major Noah Magill, who serves as team captain.

UCF’s Legacy of Cybersecurity Success

Their stellar performance marks UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 ninth first-place finish at the Southeast CCDC regional since 2013. UCF earned runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2025, along with first-place titles in special at-large CCDC regionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

“UCF has historically maintained high service availability levels while under attack by the red team.” 麻豆精品 S� Tom Nedorost 麻豆精品 S�02MS, senior instructor and C3 team coach

The team not only clinched the top spot but also swept all three categories, winning Best in Uptime Service, Best in Business and Best in Defense.

麻豆精品 S淯CF has historically maintained high service availability levels while under attack by the red team, 麻豆精品 S� says Tom Nedorost 麻豆精品 S�02MS, C3 team coach and senior instructor of computer science and IT. 麻豆精品 S淲e lived up to that expectation again this year, which resulted in winning the Best in Uptime Service award. 麻豆精品 S�

 

Nedorost adds that the team strengthened its ability to complete technical service requests while hardening systems against vulnerabilities to protect their network, key improvements that led to the two additional category wins.

Putting Cyber Defense Skills into Practice

At each competition, teams are tasked with defending a fictional company 麻豆精品 S檚 network against cyberattacks launched by red team members attempting to infiltrate it. All the while, competitors must maintain business operations and respond to customer service requests.

Each obstacle mimics real-world scenarios cybersecurity professionals face, allowing competitors to demonstrate their technical skills, business acumen and ability to collaborate.

It’s fun to go up against people [who, collectively,] would be a force to reckon with in the cyber world . 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Noah Magill, prelaw major and C3 team captain

Magill says the Southeast CCDC is among the most competitive, with red team members from leading companies such as Amazon Web Services and Cisco.

麻豆精品 S淎ll of them put together make up one of the scariest real-world life adversaries, 麻豆精品 S� Magill says. 麻豆精品 S淚t’s fun to go up against people [who, collectively,] would be a force to reckon with in the cyber world 麻豆精品 S� and a lot of [them] are [UCF] alumni. 麻豆精品 S�

Next Up: Nationals

As the team sets its sights on the national competition, the work is far from over. Magill says a few more 100-hour weeks are likely ahead.

麻豆精品 S淓veryone on the team is incredibly adept at what they do and world-class [in] their specialty, 麻豆精品 S� Magill says. 麻豆精品 S淟eading this team [and relying] on such amazing teammates with such a diverse amount of skills has been really awesome. 麻豆精品 S�