A team of undergraduate students taking an information technology (IT) security class at the FSU School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) has successfully qualified for the 2013 Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition.

The students placed as one of the top southeastern university teams in an eight-hour virtual qualification event on Feb. 2, during which they performed routine tasks and secured multiple servers against simulated cyber-attacks. The team included Adolfo Lopez, Kara James, Nick Clark, John Patterson, Arsalan Ahmed, John Seigel, Jonathan Hodge and Mazin Hasan.

“I am very proud of my students,” their teacher, Dr. Shuyuan Mary Ho, said. “They did a great job but the real battle is still ahead of us at the on-site challenge.”

The next stage in the competition will be in Atlanta, where the FSU team will compete with seven other universities in the 2013 On-Site Regional Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, Kennesaw State University, March 5−7. Should they succeed in winning in Atlanta, they will move on to the 2013 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in San Antonio, Texas, in April.

“Congratulations to the team and to their coach, Dr. Ho,” said Dr. Kathleen Burnett, interim director and professor at SLIS. “The fact that they were able to advance to the second round on their first attempt at a competition of this type is a strong indicator of their commitment and of the excellent opportunities for IT education at FSU’s iSchool.”

The School of Library & Information Studies at the Florida State University is a founding member, a leader and the only Florida member of international iSchool movement, made up of institutions that examine the critical relationships between people, information and technology. Its programs emphasize professions and activities that help people use and manage information. To learn about the school’s programs, visit their website at ischool.cci.fsu.edu.