Middletown Student Specializes in Hacking Computers and That's a Good Thing

MIDDLETOWN, RI — Middletown's Lucas Christian knows how to crack a computer network. On his way to becoming an expert in cybersecurity, he participated in a hacking competition at New York's Rochester Institute of Technology.

Over the Nov. 4 weekend, ten teams of college students from all over the U.S. turned out at RIT for the games.

"For the competition, teams of three to six students interrogated a mock-company's network. The following morning, they presented a report to the judges on their findings and offered their suggestions for mitigating risk," the school said.

"The competition allows students to learn about cybersecurity from a different vantage point," school officials said. Namely, the students went on the offense, instead of playing defense and attempting to keep out intruders.

Lucas was on the RIT team, which placed third.

University of Central Florida took home the top trophy in the competition, while University at Buffalo placed second.

"The top teams were noted for their exemplary positive professional attitudes, excellence in organization and both written and verbal communication skills," the school said.

"Cybersecurity issues are in the news every day," said Bill Stackpole, professor of computing security at RIT and director of the competition. "It's important to have collegiate competitions like these that prepare students for challenges they'll face in the real world, while helping raise visibility for how important penetration testing really is to cybersecurity."