AN INFORMATION technology student from the Mariano Marcos State University advanced to the national competition of the HackForGov Cyber Challenge 2023.

Aedrielle Ascaño was the Most Valuable Player at the regional level of the competition. He got the highest score among individual participants from schools in Region I.

Ascaño and his team members Aizer Charlz Basilio, Joaquin Megio, and Jayther Jann Bua-ay secured the first runner-up spot.

Ascaño will vie in the national competition in October along with the winning team from Pangasinan State University to represent the region.

They were guided by Dr. Napoleon Cacanindin, chairperson of the department of information technology at the MMSU College of Computing and Information Sciences.

“The college aims to produce future IT and computer science professionals who help uplift the community through technological innovation and discoveries,” Dr. Saturnina Nisperos, CCIS dean, said.

Meanwhile, a team of BS Computer Science students composed of Rene Angelo Batara, Richdale Karl NJ Martial, Raymart Gutera, and Emannuel Adonay II landed in the fifth spot.

Computer science faculty member Prof. Ralph C. Perdido served as their coach.

Sponsored by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, in collaboration with the National Computer Emergency Response Team, the event is widely recognized for assessing participants’ expertise in cryptography, web, and network security.

Its “Capture-The-Flag” format requires participants to locate the vulnerability in the opponent’s side and breach through it.