WSU student team takes first at national cyber competition

Source Domain: news.wsu.edu

A team of Washington State University computer science students recently earned first place in the 2026 VICEROY National Cyber Competition called The Guardian Prevails.

The event was held during the annual VICEROY Symposium at the College of William & Mary on April 14.

Drawing students from across the U.S., the competition requires students to solve realistic cybersecurity challenges. VICEROY, which stands for Virtual Institutes for Cyber and Electromagnetic Spectrum Research and Employ, is a Department of Defense-funded initiative designed to train students in cyber-spectrum skills, operations, and research. The competitions aim to help develop a skilled cybersecurity workforce for national defense, according to the initiative’s website.

WSU team members who won the competition included Sean Hodgson, Adam Caudle, Cole Wilson, Justin Van Der Sluys, and Andy Sorge, undergraduates in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

“This was an incredible opportunity to put our flexibility, ingenuity, and systems understanding to the test in high-stakes, realistic simulated environments,” said senior Adam Caudle. “It’s a testament to what can be achieved when a team brings their A-game.”

This was an incredible opportunity to put our flexibility, ingenuity, and systems understanding to the test in high-stakes, realistic simulated environments.

Adam Caudle, student
Washington State University

The students are part of WSU’s CySER (Cybersecurity Education and Research) Institute, which came about as a result of an initial $1.5 million award from the VICEROY Initiative in 2021. The program established a thriving cyberoperations research and teaching center at WSU, where training is provided to ROTC and DOD-skilled civilian workers in computer science and other majors in cyber basics, operations, or defense, offering bachelor’s degrees as well as specialized certificates. Participating students receive training…

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