U of A seniors Conrad Haslauer and Nadine Moustafa earned first place in the KPMG Cybersecurity Challenge.
(Photo: Submitted)
U of A seniors Conrad Haslauer and Nadine Moustafa earned first place in the KPMG Cybersecurity Challenge in March, a national, industry-sponsored competition that puts students' cybersecurity and business skills to the test. The Walton College students topped teams from universities across the country, providing a strong external measure of how U of A students are being prepared to confront complex cybersecurity challenges facing businesses today.
Held as part of the Association for Information Systems Student Chapter Leadership Conference at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the competition challenged students with a realistic financial-services cybersecurity case. Teams analyzed technical vulnerabilities, assessed business risks, considered regulatory requirements and developed recommendations for a business audience. Haslauer and Moustafa took first place, ahead of Brigham Young University in second and James Madison University in third. Judges evaluated teams on problem understanding, risk assessment, mitigation strategy, presentation and a supporting audit report.
The judging process makes the result particularly meaningful for Walton College. University-identifying information was prohibited from submissions, allowing the students' work to be evaluated on its merits rather than their institution's name or reputation. The first-place finish provides independent validation of the technical knowledge, business judgment and communication skills Walton College students are developing for a field increasingly critical to businesses across industries. Haslauer and Moustafa were coached by David Reavis, Janaki Koppolu and Daniel Conway, faculty members in Walton College's Department of Information Systems.
The win comes as Walton College moves through the approval process to offer its cybersecurity program online. The expansion will broaden access to a program whose students have demonstrated on a national stage their ability to connect cybersecurity expertise with business needs. As AI expands both the power and complexity of cyber threats and quantum computing begins to challenge today's security foundations, the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals is becoming increasingly urgent.