CyberHerd
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MEET THE HERD
USF CyberHerd was formed in Fall 2023 by the College of Engineering's Department of Computer Science & Engineering, with funding from Cyber Florida (the Florida Center for Cybersecurity), to train students to compete in national-level cybersecurity competitions -- and win!
The team has continued to dominate the cyber competition circuit, capturing first-place wins at the DEF CON 33 Adversarial Village CTF, 2024 Raymond James CTF and VIVID Finals. They also secured podium finishes at SECCDC Regionals, A-ISAC, and the Cyber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge, consistently outmaneuvering red and blue teams from top-tier universities across the country.
CyberHerd's purpose is to improve USF's competitiveness in the broad field of cybersecurity, to improve visibility of the university and Computer Science and Engineering programs, and to highlight USF's ongoing investments in cybersecurity education.
LEADERSHIP
Team Captain & Red Team Leader
Nevin Southammavong
Blue Team Leader
Sanaan Wani
Business and Communications Leader
Michelle McAveety
Team roster:
Andres Samper
Aylin Masiyeva
Fagan Afandiyev
Grant Stevens
Hoang Minh Tam Dang
John Russo
Jun Lu
Michael Maldonado Cruz
Mohamed Eltonamly
Nathan Leung
Nicholas Kleespies
Jackson Liveringhouse
Samir Jihadi
Sanae Elmachhour
Sujith Palanivasagam
Yeran Gamage
NEWS
USF CyberHerd captures first place at world鈥檚 largest hacker conference
August 11th, 2025 The 黑料爆料鈥檚 CyberHerd team claimed first place at DEF CON 33鈥檚 鈥淎dversary Wars鈥� Capture the Flag, capping the competitive team鈥檚 debut at what is widely regarded as the largest hacking and security conference in the world.
CyberHerd Victories
- DEF CON 33 Adversarial CTF - August 8-10, 2025 - 1st Place
- SECCDC Regionals 2025 鈥� March 21-23, 2025 鈥� 3rd place
- SECPTC Regionals 2024 鈥� November 15-17, 2024 鈥� 2nd place
- VIVID Finals 2024 鈥� November 13-14, 2024 鈥� 1st place
- CyberForce 2024 鈥� November 9, 2024 鈥� 5th place
- Cyber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge 鈥� October 21-23, 2024 鈥� 2nd place
- Raymond James CTF 鈥� October 5, 2024 鈥� 1st placeA-ISAC 2024 鈥� September 18, 2024 鈥� 2nd place
- DEF CON 32 Adversarial CTF - August 9-11, 2024 - 2nd Place
- DoD Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge - May 18, 2024 - 1st Place
- SECCDC Regionals 2024 - March 2024 - 2nd place
CONTACT US
CyberHerd Captains 鈥� cyberherd-cptns@usf.edu
CyberHerd Coaches 鈥� cyberherd-coaches@usf.edu