MET-Led Team Wins Department of Defense-Sponsored Cyber Games Competition
A team representing BU’s Metropolitan College emerged victorious at the annual Cyber Games Competition, put on by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity. It marked the second straight year BU MET’s team placed in the regional event.
Held Sunday, March 15, 2025, the NCAE Cyber Games are a US Department of Defense-sponsored initiative designed to help develop a cyber-ready workforce. Open to students attending universities that, like Boston University, are designated as “Centers of Academic Excellence,” the education-oriented competition began less than a decade ago, with MET first competing in 2021. While it is rigorous, the competition is primarily intended for students who have never competed in anything like it before.
BU’s team of 10 students was selected by MET Cybersecurity Director and Assistant Professor Yuting Zhang, and as the games are open to all students, not just those pursuing MET’s MS in Computer Science with concentration in Security, there was a College of Arts and Sciences student on the team, as well. Two online students were part of the roster, as were four on-campus students originally from the US, with an online student serving as captain. Once assembled, the team met weekly in preparation, studying and completing exercises while deciding on roles and responsibilities. A representative of BU MET’s 2024 team, which placed fifth in their year’s games, met with the team to offer coaching pointers.
The BU MET team gathered at the College’s 1010 Commonwealth Avenue headquarters for the all-day match, with all members but for the one who is based in California joining onsite. Held online, the Cyber Games Competition is comprised of two parts. The first is a capture the flag-style exercise, traditional to cybersecurity events, while the second involves defending an infrastructure from an invading team. These events reflect the career opportunities in the cybersecurity field, most of which fall into “defend” categories. In all, there are five regions for the competition, with additional overflow matches. BU MET placed fourth out of 12 teams in its region, earning the praise of Assistant Professor Zhang, who credited the quality of the students.
“I’m very proud of them—they did a great job,” Dr. Zhang said. “It’s all [a credit to] their efforts. They really worked hard and worked together for this. And this also boosts the program, [as they] get more practical experience in the field.”
The regional victory earned the BU MET team the right to join the next level: an invitational, held in Florida. While the team did not emerge a winner at that event, Zhang says the students enjoyed the trip as a reward for their hard work. Thanks to the NCAE Cyber Games, BU MET students got the opportunity to enhance their abilities, practice for similar opportunities in the future, and develop skills they can use in eventual job interviews.
“It’s just to give them more opportunity to learn and get interested,” said Dr. Zhang, who added that the team has expressed a desire to remain together to practice and pursue future competitions. “So far, the feedback from students has been they all enjoyed it very much. It was very fun and very, very helpful.”
We congratulate our BU MET Cyber Games team on their exemplary performance.