Baker College cyber defense teams win at state invitational

A team of Baker College of Flint students placed third in the Michigan Collegiate Cyber Defense Network (MCCDN) Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 1. Another Baker College team, representing the Jackson campus, won first place.

Team members from Baker College of Flint are:

· Jason Bailey, of Lapeer, team captain

· Zachary Witham, of Clio, MS Windows lead

· James Cribs II, of Wayne, Ohio, Linux lead

· Noah Bliss, of Hartland, networking specialist

· Jeremiah Brown, of Flint

· Alexander Jindra, of Whitehouse, Ohio

· Jeffery Matter, of Clyde, Ohio

· Jonathan Sloan, of Lyons, Ohio

Team members observing the competition were Matthew Berg, of Flint, and Ben Nodlund, of Harrison Township. Team advisors are Mark Lozen, Van Scott and John Neiling.

“We are extremely proud of our students’ performance on the state level,” said Wen Hemingway, Baker College of Flint president. “Their success is direct evidence of their passion and hard work, as well as the dedication of our faculty and staff in providing the skills and training necessary to succeed in the high-demand fields of cyber defense and security.”

The teams were provided with identical systems via individual Cisco routers. Students worked to prevent unauthorized access and to accurately identify compromises and compromise attempts while keeping the network operational and maintaining business functionality.

“The extensive preparation by team members helped them stay calm under pressure and use their knowledge to overcome obstacles that the competition delivered throughout the day-long event,” said Morris Fulcher, associate dean of computer information systems. “It was rewarding to see how senior members capitalized on their experience from previous competitions and guided the new members.”

Teams representing nine colleges and universities throughout the state competed via web interface from their home campuses using the virtual infrastructure of the Michigan Cyber Range. A team representing Ferris State University won second place.

Scores were based on the team’s ability to keep critical systems running, the number of service requests completed, incident response techniques and mitigation planning.

Flint Team Captain Jason Bailey credited his team’s success to the extensive coursework and combination of classes required for the information technology programs that focus on cyber defense.

“Baker College provides a strong foundation in networking, Linux and Windows,” he said. “As we advance, it is clear how each class builds on its prerequisite. Events like this competition demonstrate how the curriculum contributes to our ability to successfully meet real-life challenges in cyber defense.”

The MCCDN is a group of network engineers, security experts and educators with the goal to encourage academic success for entry into the highly competitive profession of computer networking and cyber defense. For more information, visit www.michiganccdn.com.

For more information about Baker College of Flint’s computer information systems programs, contact Jodi Cuneaz in the admissions office at jodi.cuneaz@baker.edu or 810.766.4000.

The largest private college in Michigan, Baker College is a not-for-profit higher education institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It serves more than 28,000 students on multiple campuses and online. Baker grants certificates and associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 150 programs across diverse academic fields, including business, health sciences, engineering, information technology, education and human services. An impressive 97 percent of available graduates are employed. Every Baker graduate receives Lifetime Employment Assistance—free and forever. Baker is a pioneer in online education and offers students the option of completing a degree 100 percent online, without ever visiting a campus. For information, visit www.baker.edu or follow Baker College on Twitter, @bakercollege, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/bakercollege.