Columbia cybersecurity team to compete on national stage

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - One of the best collegiate Cybersecurity teams in the country is found in Columbia and they are getting ready for a big national competition.

Their team, ‘D0wn The L1ne,’ has been practicing for the event at their Columbia Campus of ECPI University.

They are headed to Las Vegas to be a part of the ‘Wicked 6 Cyber Games’ after school officials say they defeated 25 competing schools to get there.

The contest is designed to simulate industry-specific cyber-attack scenarios, in a field that team member Wendi Jonkers says is growing in importance.

“It matters because people’s information’s out there. Data is out there. Anything can get retrieved at any point in time and our job is to make sure, when we graduate and we get out there in the real world, our job is to make sure people’s data is kept safe,” Jonkers said.

A statement from ECPI reads in part:

“We are proud of our cybersecurity team of students and their accomplishment as national finalists,” says ECPI University Columbia Campus President James R. Rund. “With Cybersecurity Ventures projecting 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2021, ECPI University is preparing graduates for the job sector of the future. Competition and hands-on training is one way we help our students prepare for their future careers.”

They add that ECPI is ‘a private university founded in 1966, ECPI University has campuses in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Texas.’

The ‘Wicked 6 Cyber Games,’ will be held on August 8th. Aside from the Columbia team, five other Cyber Security teams of universities from around the country will be competing, including the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.

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