Middlebury Institute Posts Strongest Showing Yet at Cyber Competitions

Three teams of Middlebury Institute students rose to this challenge during three different Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenges, with two reaching the semifinals.

“Cyber strategy and cyber tools are shaping international relations and security. As a security professional, understanding this relationship is critical for our field,” said Giovana Rodrigues Manfrin, who graduated from the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program in spring 2024 and is now working at BNP Paribas bank as assistant vice president, Group Financial Security U.S.

The cyber competitions, run by the nonpartisan U.S. think tank Atlantic Council, combine interactive policymaking activities with competitive scenarios to analyze cybersecurity threats, to both governments and private sector stakeholders, at both the national and international levels.

This year, three teams of four students each participated, including one all-female team. Two teams participated in person in Washington, D.C., and New York City, with one joining the competition in Geneva, Switzerland, virtually.

Rodrigues Manfrin served as team captain for all three teams, advocating for the necessary funding and faculty and staff buy-in to triple the size of the Institute’s typical delegation. This resulted in the Institute’s largest-ever showing at the international competition, which draws students nationwide from leading graduate schools and elite military academies. 

“A 21st-century policy school has to offer students opportunities related to cybersecurity,” said Philipp Bleek, professor of nonproliferation and terrorism studies and coordinator of the Cyber Collaborative, who helped support the teams. “The topic is important in its own right and also as it intersects with topics like terrorism, nonproliferation, financial crime, and other policy challenges.”

The Middlebury Institute is expanding its offerings in cybersecurity with the recent hiring of Dr. Karen Nershi, whose research focuses on international security questions emerging from the adoption of new technologies, particularly ransomware, state-backed cybercrime, and cryptocurrency. The Cyber Collaborative is a hub for cyber-related activities on campus, including a student-led club that also hosts a wide range of events and opportunities.

“Cyber 9/12 helps students understand cybersecurity issues without needing to be computer science majors,” said Allison Berke, Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program director at the Institute’s James Martin Center for Nonproliferation, who has robust cybersecurity expertise and coached this year’s teams. Where some competitions focus on coding and tech skills, this competition focuses on the intersection of cybersecurity and policy, playing to the Institute’s strengths.

“In cyber, much like nuclear, ‘escalate to de-escalate’ can be a fatal mistake,” said Rodrigues Manfrin, who participated in all three competitions. “The challenge that was consistent across all was the uncertainty surrounding the magnitude of the fictitious crisis and, as a result, how we needed to calibrate our responses, accordingly, given this uncertainty.” 

As she transitioned into her career after graduation, she appreciated how the lessons gained from Cyber 9/12 reflected real life.

“Having to make these difficult decisions and trade-offs is very realistic in the security world,” she said. “As I enter the counter-proliferation and threat-financing field, I appreciate the opportunity to do so as part of a simulated environment.”