The Coastal Virginia Cybersecurity Student Association (CVCSA) successfully hosted its 3rd annual CyberForge event, bringing together over 130 participants for a weekend of learning, competition, and networking at Christopher Newport University.

🔹 An Unforgettable Two-Day Event

CyberForge 2025 featured insightful talks from industry experts, a high-stakes Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, and valuable networking opportunities with professionals and peers. Attendees gained firsthand knowledge from top cybersecurity experts while showcasing their skills in real-world cyber challenges.

🎤 Day 1: Industry Experts Take the Stage

The event kicked off with thought-provoking sessions from cybersecurity leaders, including:

✅ The Real NCIS: Mission & Cybercrime Case Study – Clifton Everton & Laukik Suthar (NCIS) gave an inside look at how NCIS tackles cybercrime on a global scale.
✅ Finding Your Way in Cybersecurity – Sebastien Arseneault shared insights into different career paths in the field.
✅ Red Team Rising – Steve Campbell discussed strategies for breaking into offensive security, leveraging AI tools, and acing interviews.
✅ Build Your Legacy in Cybersecurity – Greg Tomchick inspired attendees on how to turn their skills into a business that makes an impact.
✅ Closing Keynote: Digital Forensics & Cybercrime – Darren Spencer (FBI) provided an eye-opening session on real-world forensic investigations.

🏆 Day 2: Capture the Flag (CTF) Competition

The excitement continued with the CTF competition, hosted by Deloitte, where over 40 teams competed in a series of real-world cybersecurity challenges.

🥇 CTF Winners

🏆 1st Place – TribeCyber (William & Mary): Lily Gloudemans, Nicolas Janis, Walker Knapp and Zachary Bowden

🏆 2nd Place – pmn@vt (Virginia Tech):  Franklin Zhang,  Hunter Owings, Lake Gohlke, Miles Zoellner

🏆 3rd Place – Mason Competitive Cyber (GMU):  Danyaal Shaozab, Dylan Knoff, Ruby Simonpietri, Sanskar Pokharel

Congratulations to all teams for their outstanding performances! A huge shoutout to Deloitte for hosting this thrilling competition and helping cultivate the next generation of cybersecurity talent.

🚀 A Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

CyberForge 2025 was made possible through the generous support of:
🔹 Deloitte
🔹 AFCEA Hampton Roads
🔹 ODU WICYS
🔹 Virginia Cybersecurity Students (VCyS)
🔹 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
🔹 MITRE
🔹 MI Technical Solutions
🔹 CompTIA
🔹 TCM Security

🙏 Thank You to the CVCSA Team

This event wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of Jonathan Kaufman (Lead Planner), Jacob Slone (CVCSA President), Zobair Wali (Past CVCSA President), and the entire CVCSA team: Danielle Caplinger, Nicholas Wiehr, Hannah Bass, David Hopkins, Karen Ann Etulle, and Aoife Murphy.

Jonathan Kaufman summed it up best:
“It is great to see cybersecurity students come together to network and expand their knowledge and skills.”

🚀 CyberForge 2025 was a huge success, and we can’t wait to see what CyberForge 2026 has in store! Stay connected with CVCSA for future events and updates.