CENTER FOR CYBER SECURITY STUDIES YOUR
IMPACT
74 midshipmen participated in internship experiences through U.S. Cyber Command, Marine Corps Cyberspace Command, and NSA.
24 midshipmen participated in 2024 summer internships with major organizations such as ASRC Federal, AT&T, BAE Systems, CACI International, and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
35 midshipmen interned at U.S. Cyber Command during the NSA Professional Training Event.
1. USNA Cyber Security Team participates in Hack the Railroad.
2. USNA Cyber Security Team competes in the Palmetto Cyber Defense Competition.
3. Midshipmen at the 10th annual Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) Conference in Nashville, TN.
4. Midshipmen attend the Mandiant Worldwide Information Security Exchange conference.
Top to Bottom and Left to Right:
CYBER SECURITY TEAM
The Naval Academy Cyber Security Team (CST) participated in Hack the Railroad, a pioneering hybrid cybersecurity event cohosted by U.S. Cyber Command, Cylus, TAC and Amtrak. At the conference, the team collaborated with industry professionals to test the security of an exercise version of an industrial rail system. This experience provided the team with invaluable insights into emerging threats and cutting-edge defenses, while also allowing them to learn from and network with experts from both industry and the Department of Defense.
The CST also participated in the Palmetto Cyber Defense Competition, the NSA Cyber Exercise, the Cyber Red Zone competition and they attended the ShmooCon Security Conference.
WOMEN IN CYBERSECURITY AND COMPUTING CLUB
This year the Women in Cybersecurity and Computing Club (WiCC) began their year with an invitation to the Mandiant Worldwide Information Security Exchange conference. Hosted in Washington, DC, the conference lasted two days and was full of insightful panels on leadership and cybersecurity case studies, networking with industry professionals and technical presentations that bridged midshipmen’s academic knowledge with real-world applications.
Two midshipmen leaders of WiCC, Ensign Cecelia Rech ’24, USN, and Ensign Mackenzie Wood ’24, USN, presented their capstone project, Using Reinforcement Learning to Perform Vulnerability Analysis on a Simulated 5G Network, at the 2024 Women in Cybersecurity Conference (WiCyS) held in Nashville, TN. They had the opportunity to hear from female senior executives in cybersecurity, discuss the research projects of students from around the country and even meet with Madeline Reynolds ’19, USN, co-founder of WiCC and current Microsoft customer success account manager.
WiCC closed out the academic year by hosting their annual networking dinner. The dinner, hosted at the Naval Academy Club, featured a diverse group of midshipmen from various majors, and faculty from the cyber science, computer science and computer engineering departments. The highlight of the dinner was a panel featuring Lt. Col (sel.) Audrey Callanan of Joint Force Headquarters—Cyber; Ayan Islam, director of cyber workforce in the office of the national cyber director; and Maryanne Luck, a retired cryptologic warfare officer and current program manager at Chameleon Consulting Group.
INTERNSHIPS
Twenty-four midshipmen participated in the following 2024 summer internships. Below are the sponsors and the number of midshipmen who participated in each of the internships:
• ASRC Federal, Moorestown, NJ: three midshipmen
• AT&T, Rutgers, NJ: one midshipman
• BAE Systems, Nashua, NH: five midshipmen
• CACI International, Reston, VA: two midshipmen
• CACI International, Sterling, VA: two midshipmen
• Clarity Innovations, Columbia, MD: one midshipman
• General Electric (GE) Aviation, West Chester, OH: one midshipman
• Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA), Alexandria, VA: three midshipmen
• Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD: six midshipmen
The NSA Professional Training Event (NSA, U.S. Cyber Command and Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command) hosted the following internships:
• 35 midshipmen at U.S. Cyber Command
• 19 midshipmen at Marine Corps Cyberspace Command
• 20 midshipmen at NSA
LANGUAGE, REGIONAL EXPERTISE AND CULTURE (LREC) TRIPS
CYBER EUROPE—ESTONIA, GERMANY, PORTUGAL
CAPT Paul Tortora ’89, USN (Ret.), CDR Phil Starcovic, USN, and ten midshipmen recently visited Europe as part of a sweeping, cyber-focused Language, Regional Expertise and Culture (LREC) trip that is funded through generous donations to the USNA Center for Cyber Security Studies.
In the first engagement of the trip, the midshipmen attended the 16th Annual NATO International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) hosted by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCD COE) in Tallinn, Estonia. USNA midshipmen have been attending the annual conference since 2014. The conference’s theme was “Over the Horizon” which challenged midshipmen to observe and participate in presentations from many senior government officials, military members and cyber security experts. The midshipmen had the pleasure of having a personal meeting with Ambassador Nate Fick (inaugural U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy) to discuss his vision for the new position and also his lessons on leadership. Midshipman Bob Yang ’26 commented, “CyCon was an amazing experience that helped me understand different European nations’ perspectives on cyber security and policy.” While in Estonia, midshipmen had the opportunity to explore Tallinn’s Old Town and visit the Soviet Bronze Soldier monument.
On a brief stop in Munich, midshipmen went on a guided tour of the Dachau concentration camp. This tour helped explain some abhorrent history and allow the students to have a better understanding of how pervious conflicts have shaped the current German and European culture. Midshipman Lauren Leckelt ’25 reflected, “Touring Dachau was one of the most mind opening experiences I have had in my life. Hearing the evil things people are capable of on the news and through stories is one thing, but going to see it in person at Dachau is another thing altogether. To see what all the poisoners had to go through really drilled in the reason that we are so particular in recognizing human dignity in all that we do here at USNA.” Additionally, some midshipmen were able to visit Neuschwanstein Castle.
The final stop of the LREC was Lisbon Portugal. While here, the group toured the Escola Naval (Portuguese Naval Academy) where they were able to interact with Portuguese cadets to understand the differences and similarities of life at each other’s respective academies. Midshipman Crystal Mendoza ’26 said, “I really enjoyed talking to midshipmen at the academy. They were very welcoming, and it made me realize how big our academy really is and how fortunate we are to have all the resources.” Later, a visit was made to the Portuguese Cyber Command giving the midshipmen the opportunity to compare and contrast the United States and Portugal through a cyber lens. The tour of Lisbon culminated in a visit to Naval Striking
Left to Right:
1. Trailhead on Mt. Fuji in Japan.
2. Samsung Innovation Museum at Samsung HQ in Suwon, Korea.
and Support Forces NATO, which provided the ability to see how the United States and Portugal worked together with other members of NATO to support the alliance.
JAPAN AND KOREA
LCDR Norman Overfield ’14, USNR, led a group of eight midshipman on an LREC trip to Japan and Korea in July 2024. The midshipmen were able to discuss pressing cybersecurity issues with leaders in academia, military, government and industry.
Organizations in Korea included Samsung Electronics, Sungkyunkwan University and Republic of Korea Cyber Operations Command (ROKCOC) where the midshipmen received a brief and Q+A session from the director of training, covering topics ranging from training the force, retaining talent and cyber defense exercises. The professors at Sungkyunkwan University, located in Pangyo Techno Valley, discussed the relationships between the companies located there and the Korean government to create a “Silicon Valley” of Korea, which has been highly successful in developing startup companies in the technology sector (to include cybersecurity, AI and big data). Samsung Electronics provided an excellent presentation from their mobile division about Knox Security, discussing the advancements they are making in the cybersecurity of their mobile devices.
Japanese organizations visited included the National Defense Academy (service academy for all of their defense force branches), Cyber Protection Team 555 (U.S. Navy), Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) Cyber Defense Command (JCDC), the National Police Agency, the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC), the Information technology Promotion Agency (IPA), the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and NTT Corporation (Japan’s largest telecommunications provider). The midshipmen had great discussions with NISC leadership regarding Japan’s cybersecurity policy with considerations to other national policies and international relations. At NTT, the midshipmen sat down with Mr. Shinichi Yokohama, the CEO of NTT Security Holdings, to discuss some of the latest threats in cyberspace and what NTT is doing to respond.
Outside of the office, the midshipmen experienced the challenging hike to the summit of Japan’s Mt. Fuji, gaining more than 4,800 feet in elevation to reach the summit in rainy, windy conditions and visited the unique DisneySea theme park in Tokyo. In Korea, they toured the world’s only De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea, attended a professional baseball game, and toured the famous Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul.
Left and Right: USNA midshipmen visited the Olympic Broadcasting Services’ (OBS) Network Operations Center two weeks before the 2024 Paris Olympics. OBS films and distributes all footage of the Olympic games.
ENGLAND
CAPT Paul Tortora, CDR Dennis Dias and Maj Jake Mathieson led a group of ten midshipmen on an LREC trip to England and France. The group visited London, Portsmouth, Bletchley Park, Oxford, Normandy and Paris. The group attended site visits and briefs with NATO’s Allied Maritime Command, the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre, the British Broadcast Corporation, Portsmouth Naval base and France’s Cyber Campus. In addition to the numerous cybersecurity engagements, throughout the trip they retraced the footsteps of the Allied forces on D-Day. After a visit to the D-Day map room in Southwick house, the group crossed the channel via ferry to visit Utah Beach, Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery.
Midshipmen visited the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). NCSC works to make the U.K. the safest place to live and work online.
CYBER LECTURE SERIES
The Cyber Lecture Series brings in highly accomplished leaders from across the Department of Defense, U.S. government, private industry and much more to enhance the brigade’s education in a variety of topics related to cyber warfare and cyber security. Recent speakers have included:
• Chief Technology Officer at AT&T, Rich Baich
• Inaugural U.S. National Cyber Director and former Deputy Director of the NSA, Chris Inglis
• Former National Cyber Director (acting), Kemba Walden
• Inaugural U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy and former reconnaissance Marine, Nathaniel Fick.
The USNA Cyber Lecture Series is generously supported by Booz Allen Hamilton.
CENTER FOR CYBER SECURITY STUDIES AWARDS
MIDSHIPMAN AWARDS
BOWMAN SCHOLAR: Ensign Claire Schnorr ’24, USN—cyber operations major
• Identifying Unnatural Deformities in Submarine Cables through Dynamic Imaging Adviser: Professor Richard O’Brien, weapons, robotics and control engineering department
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY—WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION JOINT MASTER’S IN OCEANOGRAPHY PROGRAM. The Superintendent hereby recognizes the selection of the following midshipmen for participation in the MIT-WHOI Joint Master’s Degree in Oceanography Program:
• Ensign Claire Schnorr ’24, USN, cyber operations major, submarine (nuclear)
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOMINEES FOR THE U.S. NAVY OSP—CIVILIAN GRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM. The Superintendent hereby approves the midshipmen listed below for OSP with the following qualifications:
• Ensign Ian Crossey ’24, USN, bachelor’s in cyber operations, naval aviation (NFO), McMullen Fellowship, Boston College, master’s in finance (1 year)
• Ensign Eric Liu ’24, USN, bachelor’s in computer science and cyber operations, maritime cyber warfare, Draper Fellowship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, master’s in electrical engineering and computer science (2 years)
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOMINEES FOR THE U.S. MARINE CORPS OSP—CIVILIAN GRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM. The Superintendent hereby recommends the following midshipmen for approval by the USMC to attend the listed graduate education program or programs.
• Lieutenant Catherine Aitken ’24, USN, bachelor’s in computer science and cyber operations, USMC (cyber), Pownall Scholarship, University of Cambridge, master of philosophy in machine learning and machine intelligence (1 year)
• Lieutenant Matthew Friedrichs ’24, USN, bachelor’s in computer science and cyber operations, USMC (cyber), McMullen Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania, materials science and engineering in data science (1 year)
2024 CAPSTONE PROJECTS
The 54 cyber majors in the Class of 2024 worked in small teams to complete a total of 19 projects. Midshipmen presented their projects on Capstone Day in Alumni Hall on 1 May 2024. The capstone projects reflected the interdisciplinary nature of the major, ranging from policy to technical to the social sciences in order to solve real-world problems. The following projects represent the cyber operations majors and also included several dual majors with the computer science department:
AY24 PROJECTS
• DPRK Cyber and Political Timeline
• Amending Section 230 for a Safer Online Experience
• Quantifying EEG Data During a Cybernetic Jamming Attack
• Assessing and Measuring Cyber Security in a Global Setting
• How Have Mixers Aided DPRK Cyber Attacks
• Application of Machine Learning for the Defense of Guam
• Electronic Drone Based Jamming
• System State Road Map
• Leveraging Threat Intelligence and Behavior Analysis to Track Threat Actors
• A Framework for Integrating Cyber Education Into 6-8th Classrooms
• The Analysis of Human Users in Recognizing Site Security through Contrasting Browser Notification Designs
• Real-Time Ransomware Detection Using Hardware Performance Counters on a Non-Virtualized System
• FTC and Data Security Capstone
• Zeus’ Quiver: Even Lightning Needs A Cloud
• The Application of Vision ML Attacks on Robotic Controls
• Automated Cyber Kill Chains Scoring For a 5G Network
• DPRK Cyber Mitigation
• Ghost Recon
• TREAD: Tactical Record Extraction Across Datasets
Coming into my Naval Academy plebe year, I didn’t know what extracurricular activities I would want to participate in, but on a whim, I joined the Cyber Security Team and found inspiring mentors, great friendships and a close community that would eventually help me graduate as a Cyber Warfare Engineer (CWE). Over the past four years and this summer, CCSS has enabled my professional and academic growth in cyber and computer science. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to support CCSS and the next generation of CWEs and cyber officers this summer in the CWE Professional Training.
—ENS
ANNA-GRACE DUMAS ’24, USN
HOPPER HALL
CCSS has had many foreign and U.S. visitors to Hopper Hall to see the state-of-the-art facility and understand how USNA approaches cyber education. Notable visitors included:
• FC Barcelona (professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain)
• Arun Alexander (Deputy Ambassador of Canada)
FUTURE PLANS AND LOOKING FORWARD
As CCSS continues to grow, we would like to capitalize on our past success by continuing to support the margin of excellence that we have provided thus far. We are regularly looking for opportunities to support Women in Computing and Cybersecurity (WiCC) activities, engagements with recognized cybersecurity experts (both government and otherwise), vendor training for faculty and midshipmen and classified education and research facility upgrades.
THANK YOU
Thank you for your support of the Naval Academy’s Center for Cyber Security Studies. The midshipmen, faculty and staff of the CCSS benefit from the philanthropy that make these experiences and research possible. Your contributions bring transformative opportunities to the Yard and help the Naval Academy be a leading institution in cyber security education.
