MEET THE HERD

cyberherd team

USF CyberHerd was formed in Fall 2023 by the College of Engineering's Department of Computer Science & Engineering, with funding from Cyber Florida (the Florida Center for Cybersecurity), to train students to compete in national-level cybersecurity competitions -- and win!

The team has continued to dominate the cyber competition circuit, capturing first-place wins at the DEF CON 33 Adversarial Village CTF, 2024 Raymond James CTF and VIVID Finals. They also secured podium finishes at SECCDC Regionals, A-ISAC, and the Cyber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge, consistently outmaneuvering red and blue teams from top-tier universities across the country.

CyberHerd's purpose is to improve USF's competitiveness in the broad field of cybersecurity, to improve visibility of the university and Computer Science and Engineering programs, and to highlight USF's ongoing investments in cybersecurity education.

LEADERSHIP

Marbin Pazos-Revilla

Coach

Professor Marbin Pazos-Revilla

Click here for bio and contact information

Photo of Sriram Chellappan

Faculty Advisor

Professor Sriram Chellappan

Click here for bio and contact information

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Team Captain & Red Team Leader

Nevin Southammavong

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Blue Team Leader

Sanaan Wani

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Business and Communications Leader

Michelle McAveety

Team roster:

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Andres Samper

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Fagan Afandiyev

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Grant Stevens

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Hoang Minh Tam Dang 

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John Russo

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Jun Lu

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Michael Maldonado Cruz

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Mohamed Eltonamly

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Nathan Leung

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Nicholas Kleespies

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Jackson Liveringhouse

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Samir Jihadi

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Sanae Elmachhour

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Sujith Palanivasagam

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Yeran Gamage

NEWS

USF CyberHerd captures first place at world鈥檚 largest hacker conference

August 11, 2025 The 杏吧性世界鈥檚 CyberHerd team claimed first place at DEF CON 33鈥檚 鈥淎dversary Wars鈥 Capture the Flag, capping the competitive team鈥檚 debut at what is widely regarded as the largest hacking and security conference in the world.

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USF CyberHerd Team Dominates National Cybersecurity Competitions in 2024

Throughout 2024, USF鈥檚 CyberHerd Team traveled to and competed in multiple competitions and left with multiple wins. Just in the Fall of 2024 alone, amidst two hurricanes and midterms, the USF CyberHerd Team entered and won first or placed within the top three in eight prestigious national competitions.

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CyberHerd Victories

Click the + sign to expand or collapse the competition year and competiton details below:

2025 Victories

DEF CON 33 Adversary Wars CTF | 1st Place | August 8-10, 2025

USF CyberHerd earned 1st place in the , the world鈥檚 largest hacking conference, excelling in web exploitation, cloud and Azure security, mobile pentesting, and SQL injection.

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BSIdes Tampa 2025 - Hack The Box CTF | 1st Place | May 17, 2025

USF CyberHerd captured first place at the BSides Tampa 2025 Hack The Box CTF, standing out with top-tier performance in ICS, networking, AI, and reverse engineering challenges.

Red Team CTF @ Hack Space Con 2025 | 1st place | May 13-15, 2025

The USF CyberHerd captured 1st place in the Red Team CTF at Hack Space Con 2025, demonstrating exceptional red team expertise and advanced CTF skills.

Radio Frequency CTF @ Hack Space Con 2025 | 2nd & 3rd place | May 13-15, 2025

The USF CyberHerd earned 2nd & 3rd place in the Radio Frequency CTF at Hack Space Con 2025, excelling in radio frequency and Wi-Fi hacking challenges.

Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (SECCDC) Regionals 2025 | 3rd place | March 21-23, 2025

USF CyberHerd secured 3rd place at the , outperforming top Florida universities in a cyber defense competition focused on Active Directory, system administration, threat hunting, and incident response.

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College Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC) Globals 2025 | 4th place | January 17-20, 2025

USF CyberHerd secured 4th place at the 2024 SECPTC Globals, standing out on the international stage in a rigorous penetration testing competition featuring Active Directory, network configuration, client communication, and professional reporting.

2024 Victories

Southeast Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (SECPTC) 2024 | 2nd place | November 15-17, 2024

USF CyberHerd claimed 2nd place at the , outperforming teams across the Southeast in a comprehensive penetration testing challenge involving Active Directory, network configuration, client communication, and professional reporting.

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EC-Council CTF | 1st Place | November 14th, 2024

USF CyberHerd secured 1st place in the EC-Council CTF, outperforming 20 teams in challenges focused on Linux pentesting, privilege escalation, and reverse engineering.

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VIVID Finals 2024 | 1st place | November 13-14, 2024

USF CyberHerd took 1st place at the , dominating a national king-of-the-hill style CTF against top universities from across the country.

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Department of Energy CyberForce Competition 2024 | 5th place | November 9, 2024

USF CyberHerd placed 5th out of over 100 teams at , demonstrating strong blue team capabilities and delivering executive-level presentations to industry judges.

SHPE Cybersecurity Challenge | 1st place | October 30 - November 3, 2024

USF CyberHerd took 1st place at the SHPE Cybersecurity Challenge, held at a leading industry conference, demonstrating exceptional competitive skills.

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NAVSEA Dahlgren Cyber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge (CRAM) | 2nd place | October 21-23, 2024

USF CyberHerd earned 2nd place and a $40K prize in the national Cyber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge, developing the Holistic Exploit and Risk Discovery (HERD) tool鈥攁n AI-driven system for analyzing organizational threats across hardware, software, physical, and personnel risks鈥攊n a hackathon-style competition.

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Raymond James CTF 2024 | 1st place | October 5, 2024

USF CyberHerd secured 1st place at the , excelling in reverse engineering, web security, malware analysis, and forensics challenges.

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A-ISAC 2024 | 2nd & 3rd place | September 18, 2024

USF CyberHerd earned 2nd and 3rd place at , an aviation-focused cybersecurity competition that provided hands-on experience solving real-world threats in the industry.

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DEF CON 32 Adversary Wars CTF | 2nd Place | August 9-11, 2024

USF CyberHerd claimed 2nd place at , demonstrating advanced skills in one of the world鈥檚 premier hacking competitions.

Department of Defense Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge 2024 | 1st Place | May 18, 2024

USF CyberHerd secured 1st place in the , outperforming nearly 3,000 competitors鈥攊ncluding industry veterans and students鈥攊n an intense 8-hour CTF testing forensics, web security, reverse engineering, reconnaissance, and malware analysis.

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Azure CTF @ Hack Space Con 2024 | 1st Place | April 10-13, 2024

USF CyberHerd took 1st place at the 2024 Azure CTF during Hack Space Con, dominating challenges focused on Azure cloud environments and advanced networking skills.

RF CTF @ Hack Space Con 2024 | 1st Place | April 10-13, 2024

USF CyberHerd claimed 1st place at the 2024 RF CTF during Hack Space Con, demonstrating exceptional proficiency in radio frequency exploitation and signal analysis.

Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (SECCDC) Regionals 2024 | 2nd place | March 23鈥24, 2024

 featured top universities, including the University of Central Florida and Clemson University. USF CyberHerd secured 2nd place, demonstrating exceptional skills in defending simulated enterprise networks against real-world cyber threats.

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VIVID Qualifiers 2024 | Tied for 1st Place | March 11-14, 2024

USF CyberHerd tied for 1st place at the 2024 VIVID Qualifiers, excelling in a king-of-the-hill style competition featuring advanced networking and malware analysis challenges.

NCAE Cyber Games Southeast Regional 2024 | 1st place | February 24, 2024

 is an invitation-only collegiate cybersecurity competition where teams defend simulated critical infrastructure systems from mock cyberattacks. USF CyberHerd secured 1st place by achieving the highest scores in Capture the Flag, Injects, and Service categories, and was the only team to score in the Injects category.

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Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition Qualifiers 2024 | 3rd Place | Feburary 10, 2024

The SECCDC 2024 Qualifier Tournament challenged teams to defend simulated enterprise networks against real-world cyber threats, where USF CyberHerd earned 3rd place for their outstanding defensive performance.

Saint Leo CTF Spring 2024 | 1st Place | February 1, 2024

USF CyberHerd secured 1st place at the Saint Leo CTF Spring 2024, outperforming competitors in reverse engineering, web exploitation, cryptography, and digital forensics.

Department of Energy CyberForce Competition 2023 | 5th place | November 3鈥4, 2023

, is a national cybersecurity competition where teams respond to simulated industrial control system (ICS) threats. Participants engage in challenges like threat hunting, system hardening, and incident response to protect critical infrastructure.

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CONTACT US

CyberHerd Captains 鈥 cyberherd-cptns@usf.edu 
CyberHerd Coaches 鈥 cyberherd-coaches@usf.edu