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BRISTOL, R.I. – Roger Williams University hosted its first  (NECCDC), convening the top teams from regional institutions to defend critical systems against simulated cyber threats, with the focus of this year’s competition on the healthcare industry. Among the competitors were members of RWU’s , making their second consecutive appearance at regionals.

Held from March 14-16, the NECCDC is the nation's largest premiere competition of its kind, immersing undergraduate students in a hands-on learning environment where they must secure critical systems against live cyberattacks while managing real-world business constraints.

Placing the focus on the healthcare industry, an increasingly targeted sector where third-party risk management is essential for safeguarding patient data and maintaining regulatory compliance, was a timely connection of this year’s competition with recent cyber threats across the region. According to the , Rhode Island has seen at least seven major cyberattacks since 2021.  reports that in 2023, Massachusetts had more than 2,400 known data breaches that impacted nearly 7 million people. The RIBridges data breach last December exposed hundreds of thousands of people’s personal and financial information on the dark web, sparking a renewed conversation about training a workforce better prepared to prevent and mitigate cyberattacks.

Allan Ramella, an Information Security Officer and Adjunct Professor of Cybersecurity at RWU, served as the Competition Director of the regional competition. He emphasized the significance of the university team’s competitiveness among the top challengers and now hosting the first regional competition as a milestone in Roger Williams University’s growing influence as a leader in cybersecurity education.

“Serving as the Competition Director and host site for the 2025 Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition is a true honor,” Ramella said. “It highlights our commitment to fostering excellence and competency within our Cybersecurity and Computer Science programs. This competition challenges students not only technically but also in their ability to balance security with business functionality, an essential skill in the real world.”

For the competition, each student group, referred to as “blue teams,” was responsible for securing the infrastructure of a fictional pharmaceutical company while responding to continuous cyber threats from an opposing ‘red team’ of professional penetration testers. The challenge required students to defend against real-world cyber threats while ensuring employees retained access to key systems.

Orlando Yeo ’21, M’23, a cybersecurity engineer working for a private defense-engineering contractor and current Adjunct Professor of Cybersecurity at RWU, served as coach of the RWU team after competing in the NECCDC as a student the previous year. Yeo, who received a B.S. in Criminal Justice and minor in Digital Forensics and M.S. in Cybersecurity & Networking from RWU, knows firsthand the competition’s influence on bridging the gap between classroom learning and industry practice. Now as a coach, he worked closely with students to prepare them for the high-pressure environment of the competition. Yeo credited RWU’s Cybersecurity program and the NECCDC experience for shaping his career and providing him with the skills and confidence to succeed in a rapidly evolving field.

“The Roger Williams Cybersecurity program offers fundamental hands-on courses that utilize tools from the professional world,” Yeo said. “I fondly remember taking digital forensics courses that mirrored the industry, and I leveraged those skills to stand out among my peers. NECCDC was one of the best things I could have done for my professional career because it exposed me to the environments, tools, and systems I now see everywhere in my job. I couldn’t recommend joining the RWU cyber team enough.”

As a professor and coach, Yeo expressed gratitude for the opportunity to guide the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Beyond technical skills, he aimed to instill in students the ability to think critically under pressure and work collaboratively, essential qualities in the field.

“I feel incredibly lucky to be in a position where I am directly able to contribute to RWU’s Cybersecurity program,” he said. “It’s humbling to know that people trust me with this role, and I think the students appreciate the real-world experience I bring to the team.”

For many students, including junior Ryan Deyo, the competition provided invaluable real-world learning. Deyo, a Cybersecurity and Networking major with minors in Computer Science, Cloud Computing, and Chinese from Glastonbury, Conn., served as the Linux team leader, responsible for securing Linux servers within the competition ecosystem.

“The most valuable lesson I learned was working with a group of people under pressure,” Deyo said. “I’ve had many school projects where I’ve had to work with people, but it was never in a high-stress environment. This experience helped me learn to keep my cool and communicate clearly when things weren’t going according to plan. It also boosted my confidence in pursuing a cyber career. NECCDC pushed me to learn new things and apply my knowledge in practical settings. Before this competition, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in the field, but now I know I love being on the ‘blue team’ of cybersecurity.”

The University of Massachusetts–Lowell claimed first place in this year’s competition, with the University of New Hampshire and Rochester Institute of Technology securing second and third place, respectively.