Games in Greece

A trip to Greece sounds lovely right now. Just as the weather starts to turn cold and unpleasant, traveling to a warm and welcoming place seems splendid. That notion is a reality for four Dakota State students and alumni. This coming summer, these talented young men became a part of the United States’ 20-member team to compete in Athens, Greece. The 2022 Cyber Games is the first international cyber game to be held. The goal of cyber games is to inspire a new diverse generation to work towards exceptional levels of cyber security. The team of 25 men and women are between the ages of 18 and 26. Dakota State is the only university to send more than two competitors. Over the summer, Joshua Klosterman, Eric Leslie, Logan Stratton, and Austen King strived to win spots on the team.

The name of the game is Capture the Flag, only instead of running around a building or field; it is all online. This offensive-defensive game encourages players to put their skills to the test. Rather than lurking behind trees, students face puzzles in cryptography, reverse engineering, and binary exploitation or ethical hacking to find the flag. Teamwork is integral to Capture the Flag. Competitors had their ability to efficiently communicate and work within a group evaluated during the second round. The second round also included aptitude tests to assess each player’s skill as well as an interview.

Behind the initiative is a plan to encourage young adults to go into the cyber fields. Currently, there is a talent gap of around 500,000 people within cybersecurity. While national organizations attempt to minimize that gap, they are also trying to diversify the field. New perspectives within cybersecurity are just as critical as filling all the positions. Games like Capture the Flag provide students with essential opportunities to network with other students and professionals within cybersecurity. Networking gives students the chance to get a peek inside what a professional in their field of study do daily.

Capture the Flag also pushes students to work on new skills that are valuable within the competition and cybersecurity. Along with those skills, students learn about ethical hacking. Cyber operations major, Austen King, stated, “I learned a lot of skills over the summer.” Over the summer, Klosterman and Stratton helped King work on his binary exploitation. Cyber games offer a hands-on method to foster interest within younger generations, like an educational video game. On a larger scale, they incentivize the youth to hone their craft, offering rewards to the winners. The international cyber games are the first to be on a global scale. Ironic that Athens hosted the first Olympic games; the world is introducing a new type of athlete 126 years after the first modern Olympic games. The world is finally ready to see its first cyber athlete.

While cyber games may not seem as important as the Olympics, these games will shape the future of the cyber world. King mentioned, “try it out; you’ll never know how far you can make it. Like me, I never thought I could make it this far.” So, take a chance and learn something new, whether it is learning binary exploitation or starting a new hobby, give it a try.

Decode this message, or scroll further down for the answer: mc scq vzkd ny