By james art 
The Nevada Cyber Club this January finished third at the Codebreaker Challenge of the National Security Agency (NSA), an annual competition designed to improve cybersecurity skills. Eighteen members of the cyber club participated in the challenge, which lasted from September 16, 2024 to January 17, 2025 and included solving puzzles for cryptography and cybersecurity to test the skills of participants in encryption, decoding and solving problems.
“Codebreaker Challenge is NSA’s main cyber event for students each year with over 5,000 participants and over 400 academic institutions,” says Matthew Myers, NSA’s academic connection with the University of Nevada, Renault. “Finishing in the top 1 % is worth celebrating!”
The NSA Codebreaker Challenge provides students with a practical opportunity to develop their skills for analyzing reverse engineering / low levels while working on a realistic problem focused on the NSA mission. This year’s scenario included sponsored by nation -states for advanced permanent threats (APTS) aimed at our defense industrial base (DIB).
As a member of the team of Nevada Cyber Club Kameron Bettridge, the race was a way of improving skills.
“Codebreakers was definitely an interesting set of challenges as they focused on two areas where I am the most famous: cryptography and reverse engineering,” Bettrie said. “The tasks of five and six were cool, as they both showed that even tiny mistakes in cryptographic conversions or use could lead to encrypted messages and data that decrypt or seasoned.”
Reverse engineering is a decisive ability for those involved in the fight against malware, advanced constant threats and similar malicious cyber activities. As the organization tasked with the task of protecting US National Security Information Systems, NSA seeks to develop these skills in university students and future future employees.