Competing and Educating
Penn State’s Competitive Cyber Security Organization earned regional, national, and global recognition in 2024-2025.
Penn State’s Competitive Cyber Security Organization (CCSO) invites students who are passionate about cybersecurity to connect and grow skills they can use in collegiate competitions and later in real-world careers.
The student organization competes at all levels, from beginner to advanced, earning regional, national, and global recognition. Notable placements in 2024-25:
- Global Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition: 3rd place in the world! and Best Presentation Award
- U.S. Department of Energy’s CyberForce Competition: 4th and 24th place out of 94 teams
- Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition: 2nd place at regionals and 3rd place in national wildcard round
- UConn CyberSEED CTF: 2nd place out of 205 teams
In March, CCSO hosted “SillyCTF,” Penn State’s first capture-the-flag (CTF) competition, which welcomed 313 competitors from six continents. Over the course of twelve hours, virtual participants solved challenges in cryptography, forensics, and reverse engineering, gaining real-world problem-solving experience in a collaborative environment. CCSO organized the event, wrote the challenges, provided tech support, and managed the infrastructure.
2nd
Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (Regional Round)
2nd
UConn CyberSEED CTF (205 teams)
3rd
Global Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition
3rd
Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (National Wildcard Round)
4th/24th
U.S. Department of Energy’s CyberForce Competition (94 teams)
Watch CCSO in Action
Additionally, the students hosted an internal Red vs. Blue competition, where members took on offensive and defensive roles to gain practical experience in network security operations. A red team plays the role of the attacker by trying to find vulnerabilities and break through cybersecurity defenses. A blue team defends against those attacks, responding to incidents when they occur.
CCSO also gained valuable real-world experience by performing an authorized penetration test on a content management system platform used by units across the University to create websites. They tested for potential misuse or vulnerabilities that could be exploited, and their efforts helped to improve the stability and security of the ecosystem.
The club showcased sixteen general body meetings with topics including social engineering, Wi-Fi hacking, reverse engineering, web exploitation, penetration testing methodology, lockpicking, and more!

CCSO experience leads to career opportunity
Cybersecurity student Liam Geyer has leveraged his involvement with Penn State’s Competitive Cybersecurity Organization for networking, internships and full-time employment.
Read Liam's Story