Jersey City, N.J. – October 20, 2025 – Saint Peter’s University, in partnership with ISC2, the world’s leading member association for cybersecurity professionals, successfully hosted the second annual Capture the Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition on Sunday, October 19, 2025, at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.
Capture the Flag is an interactive cybersecurity challenge in which teams compete to uncover hidden data “flags” by solving security-related puzzles, such as identifying vulnerabilities in software or websites. This year’s event brought together nearly 200 students and faculty from ten universities across New Jersey, creating a vibrant atmosphere of innovation, collaboration and learning.
“The event is Capture the Flag, but we like to call it Community Task Force, because today we are bringing together ten universities in New Jersey,” said Suman Kalia, chair of the Department of Computer and Information Science at Saint Peter’s University. “Students are coming with their faculty, and it’s an incredible opportunity to spread the technology and introduce our students to opportunities in cybersecurity. And this is just the start of what we have planned!”
Participants echoed the excitement and value of the competition. Gabriel Cucu, a Saint Peter’s University student, shared, “There aren’t many events to go to as a cybersecurity major, and this is a lot of fun and more interesting than a traditional hackathon.” Cucu’s team, which included Saint Peter’s students Denzel Baldera Reyes, Gisella Castillo and Dexzer J.Ramirez, proudly took home second place in the competition.
Event co-sponsor Rani Kumar Rajah, founder and CEO of SecuriAI, emphasized the importance of accessibility in cybersecurity education. “Capture the Flag is important for novice cybersecurity practitioners and students, but most events are geared to experts. However, ISC2 and Saint Peter’s University have recognized that it’s important to introduce more people to cybersecurity and make it easy and accessible to help them build skills for this rapidly growing industry.”
Ken Fishkin, chapter president of ISC2 NJ, highlighted the broader impact of the competition. “Events like Capture the Flag are so needed because a lot of people are intimidated by cybersecurity from a technical standpoint. We want to give people a chance to experience what cybersecurity is like without spending hours and hours learning it on their own. And it’s working – we have nearly 200 people here today from 10 schools, and it’s very exciting to see.”
Saint Peter’s University offers undergraduate and master’s degrees in cybersecurity and is developing a cybersecurity concentration within its Ph.D. in Data Science program, demonstrating its commitment to preparing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
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For more than 150 years, Saint Peter’s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit saintpeters.edu.
About ISC2
ISC2 is the world’s leading member association for cybersecurity professionals, known for its globally recognized certifications, education, and advocacy in advancing cybersecurity excellence and workforce development around the world.