The team of Laurence Cooper, Kaycee Jacka, Freya Michaud, and Thomas Wood, coached by Dr Kristan Stoddart, reached the Semi Finals and won the Best Teamwork Prize at the Finals of the Cyber 9/12 Competition.
The Swansea team was comprised of full-time and part-time students studying the MA Cyber Crime and Terrorism or the Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage module, delivered by Dr Stoddart, as part of the MA Public Policy. Laurence and Freya are also current staff members at the University, studying alongside their work.
The Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage module looks at the exciting world of cyber espionage and hybrid warfare. This is aided by elements of traditional espionage and intelligence gathering, which covers spycraft, corporate espionage, proxy and front organisations, hackers, criminals and organised crime gangs.
The team members studying the MA Cyber Crime and Terrorism drew on their knowledge gained from undertaking the Cyber Security module which is the core of the MA. This module embraces the full range of cyber security issues, from scams which target individuals to large scale corporate theft and the sharing of illegal materials. These areas also link closely to cyber espionage, hybrid warfare and cyber warfare, which have close ties to the Cyber 9/12 Competition.
Knowledge of these topics stood the team in good stead to do well at the Cyber 9/12 Competition. There were 17 teams that got through to the in-person event, 10 in the semi-finals and just 3 that made the final.
Speaking of the experience at Cyber 9/12 and on her degree at Swansea, Freya said:
“We had exceptionally positive feedback at the competition - we’re really proud of ourselves and very grateful to Kris for the support and expertise.
I am studying part-time because I already have a full-time job at Swansea. The University has been incredibly supportive and accommodating, allowing me to work flexibly around my studies, as well as supporting me with a staff bursary to pursue my master’s.
Studying the MA Public Policy course is very relevant to my work in the Legal Innovation Lab Wales because a lot of the work that the Lab and CYTREC does informs public policy.”