For the first time since 2019, St. John’s University’s cybersecurity team, STJCyberStorm, has advanced to the regional finals of the Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC). This marks only the second time in the university’s history that its team has reached this stage.
The team, consisting of 11 undergraduate and graduate students, secured a spot among the top 10 teams at the NCCDC qualifier held on January 31 at Middlesex Community College in Lowell, Massachusetts. The regional finals will take place from March 20 to 22 at Middlesex, with an opportunity for the winner to compete at the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition scheduled for late April in San Antonio, Texas.
“It is an outstanding achievement that we look forward to building on,” said Rahul S. Karnik ’93SVC, ’96MBA, Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Business Analytics and Information Systems at The Peter J. Tobin College of Business and coach of STJCyberStorm. “Our students demonstrated not only strong skills, but also professionalism and resilience throughout the competition. Their hard work and preparation paid off.”
The NCCDC serves as a major event for colleges and universities in New York and New England. Established in 2007 as part of the Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense League—which includes 35 member institutions—the league promotes interest in cybersecurity careers and helps schools evaluate students’ abilities to protect computer networks and business systems.
During competitions, teams are tested on their ability to secure and manage corporate networks while facing simulated attacks. These exercises help participants develop skills such as incident response, system defense, teamwork, and communication under pressure—skills that are valuable for future employment.
St. John’s University previously reached the regionals only once before—in 2019—since competitions began in 2008. Teams earn points based on service availability, detection and reporting of security incidents, and defending against simulated exploits targeting network vulnerabilities.
STJCyberStorm trains using St. John’s Sanford Family Cyber Security Lab located in St. Augustine Hall. The team regularly competes nationally; in 2024 it placed 15th out of 91 teams at the VIVID Cyber Competition Live Finals.
Team members have also achieved individual successes: In November, Lucas and Alyssa Meczkowska placed third among 19 teams at a Capture the Flag event hosted by Hofstra University, winning a $2,000 prize. In October, Lucas joined Alyssa, Ayaan Bhattai, Thomas Helton, and captain Gabriel Paredas to finish third among more than 50 teams at BSides NYC cybersecurity conference.
“Our success speaks to the fact that there is a strong culture of mentorship, collaboration, and hands-on practice with cybersecurity at St. John’s,” said Alyssa Meczkowska. “This environment has allowed us to thrive as a team.”
St. John’s University supports various initiatives through centers focused on multicultural efforts both locally and globally (official website). The university maintains campuses in Queens and Manhattan as well as international locations in Rome, Paris, and Limerick (official website). It is affiliated with the Vincentian Community (official website) and offers over 100 undergraduate programs across six schools (official website). As a Catholic institution dedicated to liberal arts education (official website), St. John’s is led by Rev. Brian J. Shanley O.P., who serves as president (official website).
