Students in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Cybersecurity Club took third place in a regional “Hackathon” competition sponsored by the National Center of Academic Excellence-Northeast Cyber Competition. The competition was held online on February 7, and the IUP team competed from IUP’s Stright Hall.
The 10-member IUP student team bested teams from private and state-related universities throughout the state and region. Waleed Farag, IUP professor of computer science and director of the IUP Institute for Cyber Security, is the team’s advisor.
Front row from left: Sage Gould and Tanner Braniff. Back row from left, Waleed Farag, Dominic Gadagno, Owen Schneider, Dan Tobey, Paxton Patronas, and Steve Combary. Team members missing from the photo are Ryan Kuhns, Ethan Harkness, and Jack MacMurdo.
The CAE-NE Hackathon is an annual event for college students that provides an opportunity to gain valuable experience in competitive cybersecurity events and increase cybersecurity skills through teamwork and real-world challenges.
For the competition, participants worked to solve and address two main categories of cyber problems. The first competition includes a group of “Capture the Flag” exercises to solve quickly to gain points; the second problem is infrastructure defense activities in which the students play the role of a Blue Team that tries to defend the system and ensure all services are running properly while being attacked by a Red Team, composed of professionals who work in tandem with the organizer.
“I’m really proud of how our team showed up and handled the unexpected challenges of the day,” said IUP team leader Owen Schneider, a computer science major from Pittsburgh.
“For most of the team, this was their first-ever cyber competition, so finishing in third place is something for which to be incredibly proud,” he said. “Everyone worked together and kept pushing even when things got tough. This experience gave the team a lot of experience to build on, and I’m looking forward to seeing the team do even better next year.”
“I am pleased to commend our cyber team for their exemplary performance in the 2026 NCAE NE regional hackathon,” Farag said.
“The team’s technical expertise, analytical rigor, and collaborative spirit enabled them to excel in a highly competitive environment and deliver sophisticated, effective solutions to complex challenges. This achievement reflects their unwavering dedication to cybersecurity excellence and stands as a testament to the quality of the IUP Cybersecurity program and its students. Congratulations on this well‑deserved accomplishment!”
The Cybersecurity Club is an IUP-recognized student organization; Farag has served as the faculty advisor for the club for the past 14 years.
Since 2012, Farag has served as director of the IUP’s Institute for Cyber Security, founded in 2005. Its mission is to further encourage and promote cybersecurity at IUP and the surrounding community.
IUP has had an active Cybersecurity Club since 2006; the club had its first Hackathon at IUP in 2013; the IUP club began competing in the National Center of Academic Excellence-Northeast Cyber Competition in 2018.
Farag is also the program director of several programs and projects advancing cybersecurity education and research, including the Department of Defense-PA Community College Consortium Cooperative Agreement Project, the Chinese Language Immersion Program, Autonomous Risk Mitigation Research Project, Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy, National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity PhD Cybersecurity Scholarship, GenCyber, and the IoT Anomaly Detection Research Project.
The Institute for Cyber Security, in collaboration with IUP’s Information Technology Services and other departments, actively promotes cybersecurity awareness throughout the year. In addition to the Cybersecurity Club, its outreach activities include Cybersecurity Day, Cybersecurity Club, National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Outreach to Community Colleges, and interdisciplinary roundtable discussions on issues of national cybersecurity.
In the last 10 years, IUP’s Institute for Cyber Security has secured more than $20 million in federal funding for IUP-sponsored initiatives and programs, including more than $1 million in federal funding for IUP to enhance cybersecurity training for middle school students and teachers through the GenCyber program. More than 550 middle school students and teachers have completed GenCyber camps since 2016.
IUP is one of the first institutions in the nation to receive the Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designation by the National Security Agency. The university has held that designation since 2002 and is one of only 16 universities in Pennsylvania with the designation.
The IUP cybersecurity program has more than 130 students enrolled, and about 25 students annually complete the program and receive their bachelor’s degree in the Computer Science/Cybersecurity track. IUP’s program also focuses on cybercrime detection, loss prevention, and how to collect evidence to prosecute cybersecurity offenders.
IUP’s computer science (cybersecurity track) is ranked seventh in the nation by Cybersecurity Guide in its 2026 Cybersecurity Guide; IUP’s program is the only program at a Pennsylvania college or university selected for the ranking of “best computer science with cybersecurity emphasis” program.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. As IUP celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025 and through the Impact 150 comprehensive campaign, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking to its next 150 years of student success, innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.