St. John’s Cybersecurity Team Continues Run of Success
St. John’s Cybersecurity Team Continues Run of Success
https://www.stjohns.edu/news-media/news/2026-03-02/st-johns-cybersecurity-team-continues-run-success
Publish Date: 2026-03-02 09:49:00
Source Domain: www.stjohns.edu
March 2, 2026
For the first time since 2019 and only the second time in its history, St. John’s University’s cybersecurity team has advanced to the regional finals of the Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC).
STJCyberStorm, comprised of 11 St. John’s undergraduate and graduate students, earned the prestigious honor by placing among the top 10 teams at the NCCDC qualifier on January 31 at Middlesex Community College in Lowell, MA. The team will compete in the regional finals March 20–22 at Middlesex for an opportunity to advance to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in late April in San Antonio, TX.
“It is an outstanding achievement that we look forward to building on,” said Rahul S. Karnik ’93SVC, ’96MBA, Adjunct Instructor, Department of Business Analytics and Information Systems, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, and Coach of STJCyberStorm. “Our students demonstrated not only strong skills, but also professionalism and resilience throughout the competition. Their hard work and preparation paid off.”
The NCCDC is the premier competition of the Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense League, a collection of 35 colleges and universities in New York and New England that was formed in 2007. The league aims to promote cybersecurity interest and career opportunities while enabling member colleges to assess students’ competency in protecting computer networks and business systems.
The competition tests college teams’ ability to secure, manage, and maintain a corporate network while under active attack. Participants develop practical skills in incident response, system defense, teamwork, and communication under pressure, helping students build experience that employers value.
The league hosted its first cyber defense competition in 2008. St. John’s only other trip to the regionals came in 2019.
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