Cal Poly Announces Winners of the 2019 California Cyber Innovation Challenge

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly’s California Cybersecurity Institute has announced the Mendenhall team from North Hollywood High School in Los Angeles and the CyberAegis Zelos team from Del Norte High School in San Diego as the winners of the 2019 California Cyber Innovation Challenge (CCIC).

The 2019 CCIC highlighted the challenges of securing healthcare information and medical devices through a Healthcare Network Challenge and Digital Forensics Challenge. Working collaboratively as a digital forensics team, students collected and analyzed a combination of digital and physical evidence from live-immersive environments representing the real-world scenario of a medical themed cyber plot. After the cyber competition, teams presented their findings to a panel of judges from technology companies, government, law enforcement, military and Cal Poly and the CSU.

The event, held June 21-23, featured 26 student teams from across California competing in two divisions, selected from the regional qualifying rounds and an "At-Large" application process.

Mendenhall captured first place in division one, followed by Troy High School’s Troy Tech Support team of Orange County in second place and Granada Hills Charter High School’s Granada1 team of South Central Coast in third. For division two, the CyberAegis Zelos triumphed, and TriValley CoderDojo of the Bay Area won second place. The first division is for more experienced clubs, and the second division is for middle schools and other teams that are newer to this type of exercise.

“During the competition, students interacted with judges from a variety of industries and gained insight regarding future careers in cybersecurity. They also learned how Californians are protecting California,” said Martin Minnich, Cal Poly’s California Cybersecurity Institute program manager.

Cal Poly’s California Cybersecurity Institute is a robust, multiagency effort to teach Californians how to protect Californiafrom inevitable cyberattacks through hands-on, immersive training and immediate Learn by Doing opportunities for local cyber defenders, including law enforcement, first responders, military, academia and the private sector.

To learn more about the 2019 CCIC and access the event media kit, visit http://bit.ly/CCIMediaKit. To access B-roll, visit https://youtu.be/DCU1pKPXj4c. To access event photos, please visit https://cci.calpoly.edu/ccic/2019/pictures. 

For more on the California Cybersecurity Institute, visit: https://cci.calpoly.edu/

Contact: Jimmy Baker
Director for Industry Outreach 
California Cybersecurity Institute
805-756-2948; Jbaker30@calpoly.edu

July 1, 2019