By Caleb Pfeifer
The beginnings of the Cyber Defense Club, according to current faculty advisor, Eugene Vasserman, can be traced back
about four years ago when previous Kansas State professor Simon Ou started the
organization.
Hacking, counter hacking, and simulated network
environments sound like subjects that belong in government agencies, but
according to the description on the Kansas State website, these subjects play a
crucial role in the university’s Cyber Defense Club, and their goal of developing cyber
defense skills in students.
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| Faculty Advisor Eugene Vasserman |
“I took over by default when Simon left,” said Vasserman,
“but honestly, it’s something I really enjoy doing.” In his position, Vasserman has the role of
coming to meetings, making suggestions to members, changing the constitution
and budget, and giving useful information to the team. Occasionally, he also attends competitions which
are what he claims the team is mainly about.
“They have a number of awards they have won, some for first
place,” Vasserman affirmed, speaking of the Capture the Flag style competitions
the club participates in. These competitions can range from events outside of
the university, to small competitions that go no further than the Cyber Defense
Club’s members.
Vasserman stated that when they are not competing, the team
has invited discussions on security, system administration, ethics of how they
use the information they acquire, and tools of the trade. The team’s goal is
for seniors and other members with skills in certain areas to pass their
knowledge to younger teammates whom lack those specific abilities. By doing
this, Vasserman hopes to maintain a team with thorough knowledge about cyber
defense.
Students involved with the Cyber Defense Club this year
will be involved with three external (out of campus) competitions, and multiple
on campus events. Vasserman said that it
is up to students how much they want to put into the club outside of school
time.
“They only meet officially once a week,” said Vasserman,
“but that doesn’t mean that people don’t do preparatory work outside.” Though mainly officers have outside
responsibilities, according to Vasserman, members can ultimately put as much
time and effort into the Cyber Defense Club as they desire.
