Archived from NYU Tandon School of Engineering on December 30, 2025
World’s Biggest Student Cyber Security Contests Reveal Best Young Hackers and Researchers
Overview
NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering hosted the 11th annual Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) from November 12-15, 2014, in Brooklyn. The event featured the largest student cyber security competition globally, drawing hundreds of finalists from the United States, Canada, and beyond. Competitions included Capture The Flag (CTF), forensics challenges, policy development, and research paper presentations.
Main Competitions & Winners
Capture The Flag (CTF)
The centerpiece event saw 15 undergraduate teams compete after defeating over 18,000 contestants from 75 countries in preliminary rounds.
Results:
- 1st Place: Team PPP1, Carnegie Mellon University (4,000 points)
- 2nd Place: Team PPP2, Carnegie Mellon University (3,500 points)
- 3rd Place: Team RPISEC, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (3,150 points)
Carnegie Mellon secured first place for the sixth consecutive year.
High School Forensics Challenge
Students analyzed a fictional retail store breach and murder mystery using digital evidence.
Winners:
- 1st: Poolesville High School (Maryland)
- 2nd: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Virginia)
- 3rd: Pocono Mountain East High School (Pennsylvania)
Homeland Security Quiz
A game show-style competition with broad participation across all CSAW competitors.
Results:
- 1st Place: RPISEC0, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- 2nd Place: RPISEC1, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- 3rd Place: Team Catbug, comprised of “students who met at the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering’s weekly Hack Nights”—including Loren Maggiore (Stuyvesant High School junior), Christopher Thompson (NYU freshman), and Nolan Hu (City College of Technology junior)
Applied Research Paper Challenge
Top-tier researchers presented published work to a panel of judges.
Winners:
- 1st: Vasileios Kemerlis, Columbia University
- 2nd: Frederico Araujo, University of Texas at Dallas
- 3rd: Researchers from Indiana University and University of Illinois
Policy Competition
Teams developed research on Internet of Things security policy.
Winners:
- 1st: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- 2nd: United States Naval Academy (Frostbyte team)
- 3rd: United States Naval Academy
Embedded Security Challenge
Focus on hardware security and trustworthiness.
Winners: All three from Florida institutions
Key Details
- 33 corporate and government sponsors supported the 2014 competition
- First-place finalists received scholarships up to $56,000 to NYU School of Engineering
- All finalists earned $10,000 scholarships
- Keynote speaker Alex Stamos, Yahoo Chief Information Security Officer, addressed students about career opportunities and ethical implications of security work
