FERGUS – The first all-female CWDHS FalconTech team to compete in the CyberTitan competition is going to nationals.
The Centre Wellington District High School “Terabytches” are the top all-girls team going into the CyberTitan II National Finals, which will take place on May 14 in Ottawa.
The team includes Grade 11 students Rachel Routly and Katryna Schletz and Grade 10 students Emily Younghans, Alexandra Clark, Charlotte Christie and Louise Turner.
Younghans said the goal is to defy the odds.
“Prove that we didn’t get here just because we’re female but because we’re skilled,” she said.
The CyberTitan competition, run by Canada’s Information and Communications Technology Council, is a branch of the international CyberPatriot competition organized by the U.S. Air Force Association.
The competition puts the students in the role of cybersecurity specialist.
CWDHS FalconTech also had two male teams compete in the three qualifying rounds, but they did not advance to nationals.
Only 10 teams across Canada make it to that stage.
“This team I think is going to really shock people … you’ll get a lot of people saying you’re only here because you’re girls … and you’re going to prove them wrong,” said coach and teacher adviser Timothy King.
“I don’t think this is about winning … but if we do as well as we did last year and finish in the top half, I’ll be really happy and this team is more than capable of that. I have no worries.”
In the qualifying rounds, the teams were given online PCs and had to follow rules to make the computers as secure as they could.
“Based off last year’s (national) competition … what we believe we’re going to be going into is we’re going to have physical computers with not really a scenario but they’re just broken and we will have to use our past knowledge to figure out how to first access the computer and then to make the computer safer,” explained Younghans.
In three lead-up qualifying rounds, the Terabytches split the team up with certain members specializing in different programs, such as Windows and Linux, and networks they knew they would face.
“We didn’t take a vote,” Christie said. “We just kind of said what we were most comfortable with and then just leaned towards those ones.”
After the first round, the school learned teams could use more than one computer, and it was then the Terabytches really honed in on specific aspects of cybersecurity.
“We figured instead of having everyone on both machines it would just be more organized if we had two people on each,” Routly said.
It would also give the team the chance to earn the maximum amount of points.
“I shamelessly picked really, really smart people and I mean … this group has no weak links; everybody pulls together,” King said.
Friendship is also important to the team’s success.
“The way they approach it is so collaborative and they look after each other so well,” King said.
To prepare for nationals, the entire team is cross-training to learn as much as they can about Linux and Windows operating systems.
“It’s … nice to have fresh eyes and a fresh perspective on the same thing that one person has been staring at,” Clark said.
However, the Terabytches are looking at this year’s national competition as a learning experience.
“This is our rookie year so really this is beyond our expectations and we’re really just out there to have a fun time,” Younghans said.
Most, if not all, of the team is planning to compete again next year.
The team has come a long way, from being intimidated by a male-dominated field to talking about how the competition is a confidence booster.
“Public recognition, even though it sounds egotistical, it’s really nice to know that what you’re doing, people are seeing that,” Turner said.
“We’ve gained the recognition of the school even though we didn’t have it in the first place, but just knowing that we’ve gained it feels good,” Younghans added.
The entire team encouraged students, especially girls, to try out the competition.
“The worst that can happen is that you don’t place and then you try again next year,” Christie said.
“It’s only good that can come out of it; it’s just experience.”
Clark suggested students participate even if it seems scary and intimidating.
“Just do it and then you can prove all the boys wrong,” she said.
“It’s better to put yourself forward and (be) confident, rather than being insecure about who you are and not trying something that you want to do.”
Turner advised girls to not let boys teams intimidate them.
King said next year he’s going to look more for highly skilled teams, rather than highly skilled individuals.
“I’m looking for teams based on who can work together; I think that’s really the key to this,” King said.
“If everybody’s sort of gentle with each other and looks after each other I think you’d go way farther than you will otherwise.”
