KC7 Cybersecurity Challenge
By: Daniel Said
With an exciting end to this year’s Cybersecurity Club competition, Nergis Teke is winner of
our in-house KC7 Cybersecurity Challenge and largely surpassed every other competitor to
receive an incentive in the form of a gift voucher as an acknowledgment of her outstanding
performance.
The KC7 platform used to host this season’s club competition is an interactive cyber attack
simulator mirroring real global digital threats. The simulator provides realistic experience in
identifying system vulnerabilities, analyzing suspicious activity, and tracing move strategy
used by cyber attackers, all within an increasingly higher-level system. Though out of
national competition context, our adaptation of the challenge provided students exactly
this kind of professional-level practice in an informal, competitive environment.
Each level in KC7 presented players with a new challenge, from simulating a ransomware
attack to identifying insider threats. Players became cyber experts in disguise, analyzing
information, looking for discrepancies, and reasoning out what was wrong in each
scenario. The best part? No experience was required. Seasoned in code or embarking on
their journey anew, club members could join in, with regular meetings and guiding sessions
in between.
Among contestants, Nergis Teke was the standout to beat since the beginning. She tackled
every level with analytical mind and precision to every step since the beginning. As other
contestants tackled the challenges at their own speeds, Nergis went at it with
unprecedented velocity and precision. She did not just finish every task, she finished it with
efficiency and reliability, leading every other person by a notch.
Her performance wasn’t just good, though – it was dominant. Where others at her club hit
roadblock after roadblock along the way, Nergis remained calm and just moved steadily
along never skipping a beat. Her analytical mind and strong work ethic allowed her to blaze
her way through the tougher levels, securing her spot at the top of the leaderboard.
As reward for this accomplishment, Nergis received a gift card as tribute to both her
technical acumen and love of knowledge. It was much deserved and summed up well the
club spirit of curiosity, perseverance, and dedication to understanding the virtual world in
general.
The thing that’s inspirational about Nergis’s win is that what it really signifies is what
cybersecurity is about at its fundamental level—not memorization or code, but thinking
and problem-solving and staying one step ahead. The KC7 challenge this year was able to
bring an emphasis onto those fundamental skillsets, and Nergis embodied them to the
highest level possible.
As cybersecurity is emerging as a career field—with millions of career opportunities
available worldwide in the coming decade—the clubs like ours provide an excellent
platform to learn about this career at an early level. If you’re looking to pursue a career in
cybersecurity or desire to learn how to be secure in the cyber world, competitions like KC7
are an ideal start.
We greatly admire all of the participants, but especially Nergis Teke, rightful champion of
this year’s KC7 due to her diligence and excellence. Congratulations, Nergis—you have set
a new standard of excellence, and you have inspired others to do as you do. Interested in
becoming a member of the Cybersecurity Club or participating in next year’s KC7
Challenge? Keep an eye out for notices at school and on our social media pages. Everyone
is welcome, no experience necessary, just an enthusiasm for technology and a desire to
learn.
