BETHESDA, MD. – NOVEMBER 18, 2021 – SANS Institute (SANS) announced the winners of the first ever SANS+HBCU CyberWars team competition in partnership with Norfolk State University. Six Historically Black Colleges and Universities competed in this thrilling event, resulting in the Norfolk State University Cyber Spartans being named CyberWars 2021 Champions. The University of Virgin Islands Binary Bucs took second place, with the Benedict College Cyber Tigers securing third. Hampton University’s Cyber Pirates, North Carolina A&T University’s Cyber Aggies, and the Bowie State University Cyber Squad rounded out the fourth, fifth, and sixth places respectively.
As winners, Norfolk State University will receive the new SANS+HBCU CyberWars trophy, while individual team members will be rewarded with $200 Amazon Gift Cards, SANS+HBCU gear, bragging rights, and an invitation to SANS Institute’s most coveted Tournament of Champions NetWars competition.
"Our team would like to thank NSU and SANS for providing the education and skills we need to succeed in the CyberWars Competition,” said Jaemond Reyes of Norfolk State University, CyberWars Champions. “We look forward to participating in the Tournament of Champions and representing those who have helped us along the way!"
“For a first timer, the CyberWars competition truly tested my knowledge from what I learned in school, surprising me with our team's performance. SANS truly has given us an opportunity to learn on a whole other level,” said Amaia Nicole Saret of University of Virgin Islands, Runner-Up.
SANS+HBCU looks forward to hosting the second annual CyberWars team tournament next October 2022. Historically Black Colleges & Universities interested in receiving invites should reach out to hbcuchallenge@sans.org.
About the SANS+HBCU CyberWars Tournament
The SANS+HBCU CyberWars tournament is a SANS Core NetWars competition that serves as the gold standard for all-in-one cyber range training and assessment for teams and individuals. The purpose of establishing the team-focused event is to expose students to a fun, interactive, and collaborative competition to build their skills.
About the SANS+HBCU
SANS+HBCU focuses the deep resources of SANS on creating a bridge to diversify cybersecurity with innovative Black talent from Historically Black Colleges and Universities through partnership, training, certification, resources, advocacy, and mentorship.
Learn more at sans.org/hbcu
About SANS Institute
The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. Today, SANS is the most trusted and, by far, the largest provider of cyber security training and certification to professionals in government and commercial institutions worldwide. Renowned SANS instructors teach more than 60 courses at In-Person and Live Online cyber security training events, and more than 50 courses are available anytime, anywhere with our OnDemand platform. GIAC, an affiliate of the SANS Institute, validates practitioner skills through more than 35 hands-on, technical certifications in cyber security. The SANS Technology Institute, a regionally accredited independent subsidiary, offers a master’s degree, graduate certificates, and an undergraduate certificate in cyber security. SANS Security Awareness, a division of SANS, provides organizations with a complete and comprehensive security awareness solution, enabling them to easily and effectively manage their ‘human’ cyber security risk. SANS also delivers a wide variety of free resources to the InfoSec community including consensus projects, research reports, webcasts, podcasts, and newsletters; it also operates the Internet's early warning system – the Internet Storm Center. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners, representing varied global organizations from corporations to universities, working together to support and educate the global information security community. (https://www.sans.org)