VCSU Shane Hitch wins cybersecurity award

Shane Hitch, a VCSU sophomore from West Fargo, N.D., majoring in software engineering, was one of 100 students from across the nation — and the only student from North Dakota — named a Cyber FastTrack finalist.

Hitch competed over several months to solve more than 250 cybersecurity challenges. More than 13,000 students completed the first phase of this year’s Cyber FastTrack. Over the course of several months, the competition was narrowed to 2,579 quarter-finalists, then 541 semi-finalists, and finally, 100 finalists, including Hitch, who were selected to receive a full scholarship for advanced cyber skills training through the SANS Technology Institute.

Hitch was recognized on the VCSU campus Friday, Oct. 4. Participating in a gathering in Hitch’s honor were President Alan LaFave; Susan Pfeifer, associate professor and chair of the Computer Systems and Software Engineering Department; and three representatives from the North Dakota Information Technology Department: Tony Aukland, information systems security analyst, North Dakota State and Local Intelligence Center; Rosi Kloberdanz, EduTech director; and Tabitha Teel, EduTech professional learning and outreach manager. Aukland and Teel are both VCSU alumni.

Joining the group via video conference was Sean Wiese, chief information security officer for the State of North Dakota.