CyberHerd
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MEET THE HERD

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

Team Captain & Red Team Leader
Nevin Southammavong

Blue Team Leader
Sanaan Wani

Business and Communications Leader
Michelle McAveety
Team roster:

Andres Samper

Fagan Afandiyev

Grant Stevens

Hoang Minh Tam Dang

John Russo

Jun Lu

Michael Maldonado Cruz

Mohamed Eltonamly

Nathan Leung

Nicholas Kleespies

Jackson Liveringhouse

Samir Jihadi

Sanae Elmachhour

Sujith Palanivasagam

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.

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.

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.
Read moreBSIdes 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.
Read MoreCollege 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.
Read MoreEC-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.
Read MoreVIVID 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.
Read MoreDepartment 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.
Read MoreNAVSEA 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.
Read MoreRaymond 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.
Read MoreA-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.
Read MoreDEF 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.
Read MoreAzure 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.
Read MoreVIVID 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.
Read MoreSoutheast 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.
Read MoreCONTACT US
CyberHerd Captains 鈥 cyberherd-cptns@usf.edu
CyberHerd Coaches 鈥 cyberherd-coaches@usf.edu