Team from Newaygo County Career-Tech Center, East Kentwood High School takes first place in Governor’s High School Cyber Challenge

NOVI, Mich. -- The 2024 Michigan Cyber Summit drew more than 700 cybersecurity experts to discuss solutions to protect Michigan businesses and individuals from ever-changing cyber threats. The event is held each October in coordination with Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

"The Michigan Cyber Summit gives cyber security and IT professionals from both the private and public sectors the opportunity for discussion and collaboration centered on how we can foster a safe, secure digital environment," said Laura Clark, Michigan chief information officer. "Today's event allowed over 700 attendees to tailor their summit experience to their specific interests and needs. Michigan has a reputation as a national leader in cybersecurity, and it is events like this that help us do just that."

The summit, in its 13th year, featured cybersecurity speakers, experts, and dignitaries from across the country, including ethical hacker and author Bryan Seely; State of Michigan Chief Security Officer Jayson Cavendish; State of Michigan Chief Information Officer Laura Clark; Phil Bertolini, senior vice president, Government Technology; Ryan Parthasarathy, managing director - Accenture Security, Accenture; Chris Weggeman, retired lt. gen. U.S. Air Force, managing director, Cyber & Strategic Risk, Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory; Jason Wright, practice lead, Mandiant, Google Public Sector; and dozens of other IT and cyber experts.

The Michigan Cyber Summit also continued the tradition of highlighting the skills needed to fill the growing demand for cybersecurity talent by announcing the winners of the ninth annual Governor's High School Cyber Challenge, which is facilitated by the SANS Institute in partnership with the State of Michigan.

More than 450 students from schools across Michigan participated in the challenge. The top 10 teams, which were comprised of 39 students in total, competed in the final round of the competition today at the summit. The final-round teams hailed from the following schools:

• Belleville High School, Belleville
• Canton High School, Canton
• East Kentwood High School, Kentwood
• Gull Lake High School, Richland
• Plymouth High School, Canton
• Jackson Area Career Center, Jackson
• Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center, Kalamazoo
• Montague High School, Montague
• North Farmington High School, Farmington Hills
• Lapeer County Education & Technology Center, Attica
• Newaygo County Career-Tech Center, Fremont
• Orchard View High School, Muskegon
• Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
• Reeths-Puffer High School, Muskegon
• Salem High School, Canton
• Wayne Memorial High School, Wayne
• Westwood High School, Ishpeming
• William D. Ford Career-Technical Center, Westland

Winning teams from the 2024 Governor's High School Cyber Challenge are listed below.

1st Place – ByteBusters Left to right: State of Michigan Chief Information Officer Laura Clark; coach Jason Baldus; students Lane Nelson and Rooster Poll, Newaygo County Career-Tech Center; students Colton Pitsch and Muhamed Otajagic, East Kentwood High School; coach Johnny Liu; DTMB Chief Security Officer Jayson Cavendish; and DTMB Director Michelle Lange.

2nd Place – BinaryBandits Left to right: DTMB Chief Security Officer Jayson Cavendish; State of Michigan Chief Information Officer Laura Clark; coach Shannon Houtrouw; students Quinn Hague, Jason Shaye, and David Shen, Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center; Ian Kauppila, Westwood High School; coaches Rachel Perala and Sabina Villar; and DTMB Director Michelle Lange.

3rd Place – PatchPatrol Left to right: State of Michigan Chief Information Officer Laura Clark; students Leo Markely, Luke Erb, Mackenzie Mixter, and Adam Miller, and coach Christopher Brown, Muskegon Area Career Tech Center; DTMB Chief Security Officer Jayson Cavendish; DTMB Director Michelle Lange.

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