CyberForge 2024 draws students from across Virginia

The 2024 CyberForge conference drew more than 150 participants, who heard presentations from cybersecurity professionals, attended workshops, and participated in a capture-the-flag competition.

Students had the opportunity to network with industry sponsors and explore potential internship and job opportunities in the cybersecurity field.

Karen Ann Etulle, marketing data specialist and program manager at Horizon3.ai, conducted mock job interviews and provided feedback.

The event, held Feb. 10-11, was sponsored by the Coastal Virginia Node of the  Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, the Coastal Virginia Cybersecurity Student Association (CVCSA), and the Tidewater Community College Cybersecurity Club. 

Speakers included:

• Joe Hudson, director of growth, TCM Security.
• Nikkia S. Henderson, strategy and governance program lead, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
• Leonard Gonzales, cyber investigator, Ally Cyber Investigations
• Nick Berrie, director of Offensive Security Operations, Assura. 
• Huralain Mohamed, CEO, Cytec Solutions. 

The capture-the-flag event, in partnership with MetaCTF, saw winners that included two teams from George Mason University (first and second) and a team from Virginia Tech (third).