Students in the Oregon Tech Portland-Metro Cybersecurity Club held a hands-on hackathon June 4, focused on applying classroom knowledge in a practical, enterprise-style environment.
Participants Scott Reinholtz (Cybersecurity), Joshua Brady (Information Technology), Anibal Lopez-Bonilla (Software Engineering Technology), Trevor Craig (Cybersecurity), and Noah Etchemendy (Software Engineering Technology) tested their classroom learning by building servers and testing them against attacks.
The hackathon emphasized the full lifecycle of cybersecurity work. Students built and configured systems, hardened servers and workstations against potential threats, and then used their hacking skills to get into the machines and find flags placed everywhere on the servers and workstations.
“This allowed students to apply what they learned in class in a practical way, demonstrating those skills in a real environment,” said Scott Reinholtz, one of the club’s organizers. “It also allows students opportunities to ask questions and keep learning outside the classroom. We want students to be able to continue their education with an on-site practical use case that uses enterprise hardware and software to enhance their skills in cybersecurity, IT, and networking.”
All participants received commemorative awards 3D printed by Reinholtz.
The Oregon Tech Cybersecurity Club Portland is a 12-member student-run group that meets weekly to explore cybersecurity topics and prepare for competitions.
The club introduces students to a range of tools and practices used in the field, including:
- Network and web exploitation (nmap, Burp, sqlmap, Metasploit)
- Hardware and wireless security (Pwnagotchi, Flipper, Bash Bunny, Alfa cards)
- Reverse engineering and binary exploitation (Ghidra, pwntools, ROP)
- Defensive ops and SIEM (Splunk, Wazuh, network forensics)
- Capture-the-Flag (CTF) preparation — internal practice + external competitions
Faculty and staff support for the club includes advisor Malini Nagasundaram, along with Gary Lomprey and Kellyn Beeck.
Students interested in getting involved can attend weekly meetings or join the club’s online community through its Discord channel https://discord.com/invite/bJ2ZjDKhtT.
