Hackathon IV – A cyber and computer challenge event for young people

ODENTON, Md. – Soldiers and Civilians from the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade (Cyber), Praetorians, hosted the Hackathon IV event in partnership with the Anne Arundel County Public Library to encourage teen interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at the Odenton Regional Library, November 19.

Although a relatively small event – the library caps registration at 25 – the Praetorian volunteers have never turned away a walk-in, and the young people benefit from a more personalized training and educational event since there are always ten or more volunteers.

“Running the 2024 Hackathon outreach event has been extremely satisfying work,” said 2nd Lt. Nathan Vowinkel, a 17A cyberspace operations officer and lead planner for Hackathon IV. “I have loved the opportunity to interact with the local Fort Meade community -- from the helpful Anne Arundel County Public Library staff to the eager participating students at our events. Getting kids interested in cyber topics is a critical mission for today’s Army, by ensuring our country is provided with a talented and motivated STEM workforce able to defend our country well into the 21st century.”

At Hackathon IV, young people competed in a CTF (Capture the Flag) challenge where participants searched for flags, using a variety of techniques including reverse engineering, decryption, netcat, and SSH keys. Additionally, there was a Python programming challenge, varying in difficulty from basic to master; Password cracking, where participants learned principles of password security and the lesson concluded with a password cracking demonstration; Publicly Available Information (PAI), where participants could appreciate the dangers of posting personal information online and learn techniques for browsing publicly available information; and a Logic Games station, where participants practiced binary number systems, modulo operations, and Boolean algebra.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joshua Wellman has been the lead for the Hackathon CTF the past several iterations, as well as developing computer challenges for multiple other brigade engagements; 2nd Lt. Kai Wilkinson and Sgt. Joseph Hardy created the password cracking station and were present at all three hackathons; and Maj. Mark Klink, a 17A, and brigade cyber team lead, developed a theme (“The Hunt for a Hacker”), created a website, and used a lot of ChatGPT for his PAI station.

“I enjoy participating in these Hackathon events because I think it’s an opportunity to share something that I’m passionate about with the local community and hopefully get others excited about possible career options in the Cybersecurity field,” said Klink. “Growing up, I was always interested in hacking, but there weren’t many opportunities to learn about those concepts in my local community. The Hackathons offer a chance for us to create a space for learning and experimenting with hacking techniques for people of all skill levels (we’ve had parents participate with their kids occasionally). These kids pick up the information quickly, show interest, and get quite competitive.”

1st Lt. Andrew White, a 17A, created the expansive Logic Games station for the 2023 Hackathon and updated the station for the 2024 event.

“I love this event because we’re given the chance to make education straightforward. People make cybersecurity seem difficult; it’s not. With zero background, we have kids doing conversions to and from binary, mod math, and drawing data paths by hand in just several hours,” said White. “This is the kind of material you’d see in a college-level computer architecture course. My hope is that we’re removing the fear behind learning and giving them confidence to tackle more complex subjects.”

This was the last of three Hackathon events for the 2024 season and is a part of the Maryland STEM Festival. The Praetorians are looking forward to partnering with AACPL next fall in 2025 for Hackathon V.

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