It’s been a big week for Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity (DFC) degree students competing in two cyber competitions.
“One of our biggest takeaways was that AI alone doesn’t give you an advantage. What matters is how well you understand the technology, plan your approach, and work together as a team. BCIT’s hands-on training helped us develop those fundamentals and recognize when tools were actually helping us.”
First place finish at Vancouver aviation cyber challenge
Aviation ISAC’s 2026 Student Aviation Cyber Challenge involved a simulated cyberattack against an airport. Student teams had to outmaneuver adversaries, restore order, and secure critical aviation infrastructure.
“The aviation industry is under siege, and the future of cybersecurity depends on the next generation of cyber defenders,” explains the Aviation ISAC event site. ISAC stands for “Information Sharing and Analysis Center”, and the organization is a global community of aviation cybersecurity professionals.
“Students worked together to tackle real-world aviation cybersecurity challenges, think under pressure, and put their skills into action,” explained the organizers.
DFC students Xavier El Chantiry, Tracey Lui, and Ashwin Charathsandran took top prize of $2100, even finishing the challenge early.
Thirteen university teams from different cybersecurity and technology programs in Canada and the United States competed, including BCIT, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Washington Tacoma.
“We went into the competition wanting to learn, challenge ourselves, and genuinely have fun with it. I think that mindset made a huge difference,” says the team.
“It kept the pressure from getting to us, helped everyone stay positive, and made it easier for our different strengths to come together as a team. Looking back, I think that team morale played a big part in both the experience and the outcome.”
Strong finish at Florida CTF competition
Later the same week, Xavier, Tracey, Ashwin and fellow students Kawal Kalirai and Harkaaran Kang travelled to St. Petersburg Florida to compete in the 10th Annual Raymond James Capture the Flag (CTF) Competition.
The event brought together 18 teams in total: 17 student teams representing 16 universities and colleges across Canada and the U.S., plus a team from the FBI. BCIT and UBC were the only two Canadian schools, with strong competitors including Purdue, Georgia Tech, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Florida State, and the University of Florida.
“Our team finished 6thoverall, and I am so proud of them,” reports Program Head Raymond Yu. “By using a carefully designed AI system, our team finished second in the Attack/Defense category.”
Tracey Lui was awarded the Best Team Player award – in a field of 84 – a special honour selected by Raymond James staff.
“One of our biggest takeaways was that AI alone doesn’t give you an advantage. What matters is how well you understand the technology, plan your approach, and work together as a team,” reports the team. “BCIT’s hands-on training helped us develop those fundamentals and recognize when tools were actually helping us.”
“We started the competition feeling pressured to perform, which took some of the fun out of it,” they admit. “In the second half, we relaxed, trusted each other, and started enjoying the challenges. That’s when we performed our best. Finishing second in Attack/Defense was rewarding, but the biggest lesson was how much teamwork and enjoying the experience matters under pressure.”
Laddering into the DFC degree
Xavier is a BCIT Computing grad from the Computer Information Technology (CIT) Diploma who laddered into the degree. Ashwin previously completed BCIT’s part-time Network Administration Technician Associate Certificate. He chose to pursue the Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity degree because he recognized that effective security starts with strong fundamentals. Understanding networking, system administration, and how systems communicate and operate gave him a solid foundation, making the degree a natural next step.
Learn more about Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity or related programs at a BCIT Computing & IT info session