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Mason Patriots won Commonwealth Cyber Fusion, an event that combines a collegiate cyber competition with learning and career opportunities.
George Mason University students competed in the event last weekend and again claimed first place, a position Mason has maintained from the previous Cyber Fusion. Mason representatives at Cyber Fusion included Henry Coffman, member of the Virginia Cyber Range Executive Committee, and Jim Jones, Mason faculty advisor.
The students who competed in the event are a part of Mason’s Competitive Cyber club, sponsored by the Cybersecurity Engineering (CYSE) department and coached by Jones. A number of members in the club are also students in the CYSE program.
Peggy Brouse, CYSE professor, says she is very proud of the winners’ continuing efforts and their achievements as representatives of Mason.
“Once again, our CEC students from both the Cyber Security Engineering and the Computer Science departments brought home the first place trophy from the Cyber Fusion conference,” says Brouse. “The students they competed against are from top-ranked cyber schools which makes the accomplishment even more noteworthy.”
The students self-formed the Mason Competitive Cyber club which plays a large part in their successes, she says.
“Especially impressive is that the club welcomes all students to learn about and practice for competitions regardless of experience or academic year,” Brouse says. “I look forward to future competitions.”
Cyber Fusion is co-hosted by the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Sen. Mark R. Warner, the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, and the Virginia Cyber Range. According to VMI, Cybersecurity is one of the nation’s and Commonwealth’s top priorities. Cyber Fusion is the organized integration of data and tools from disparate sources of support for secure and resilient system lifecycles.