IT Graduate Students Score Big in Cybersecurity Competition

The email landed with the impact of a weather alert or breaking news event. But unlike those situations, this one was expected. It was in the afternoon of Friday, March 13, 2026.

“It’s here,” Uzma Sayyad, LTU master’s degree candidate in Information Technology, said as she looked at her phone and then at Sagar Naik, her husband.

“Okay, get started,” he replied.

Sayyad and Naik, MSIT ’18, scoured the email from the Detroit, Michigan Chapter of ISACA, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. Then they proceeded to take it apart, because the email contained the case study and instructions for the chapter’s 12^th Annual Scholarship Competition. The clock was literally ticking because Sayyad had just two days to enter the contest. For the next 48 hours, she would be working on the case study, solving the problem it presented, and preparing a presentation on her solution and conclusions for an industry panel of judges. This whirlwind of intense, non-stop intellectual activity would culminate in the judging on Sunday afternoon, March 15, at the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Across town, the same process was underway. Nicholas Okoro, also an LTU MSIT degree candidate, working alone, attacked the same packet, facing the same deadline. “I was motivated to enter by the opportunity to apply what I’ve been learning in a real-world, problem-based environment “ he said. “Cybersecurity is something I’ve been increasingly interested in, especially at the intersection of technology, human behavior, and decision-making.”

And Okoro and Sayyad knew that they were not alone. The ISACA competition had captured entries from 47 students and 35 teams from six southeastern Michigan universities.

Since 1969, the 185,000-member ISACA organization has worked worldwide on IT governance in order to develop frameworks and produce guidance for the management and oversight of information systems. What was once a mission for a few mainframe technicians has burgeoned into a watchdog role with relevance for anyone with a smartphone in their pocket – essentially everyone. That heritage is among the reasons why Sayyad and Okoro, with the enthusiastic encouragement of Arun DeSouza, the adjunct professor of their INT 7223 Cybersecurity class, jumped at the chance to participate in the Detroit Chapter’s competition.

At the heart of this year’s scholarship competition was a case study. The subject of the study was a data breach, which occurred in a CEO website, including a photo with metadata embedded in it. How could this organization effectively address the threat? Okoro shared with Beyond Boundaries his thorough and relentless approach to solving the problem presented in the case study.

He started with reconnaissance, identifying the exposed services of the organization and understanding its attack surface. He then did a deeper analysis, which included directory enumeration and metadata inspection. This step turned out to be critical, because it resulted in a key breakthrough from analysis of image metadata: the uncovering of GPS coordinates, which helped Okoro infer login credentials. The subsequent phases of his plan were correlation and validation. Okoro credits this structure with helping him to stay focused and efficient within the 48-hour competition time frame.

Okoro also employed a full range of tools and methods in his quest to solve the contest’s cybersecurity problem. He used Nmap for reconnaissance, Gobuster for directory enumeration, and ExifTool software for metadata extraction. He also used classic OSINT – open-source intelligence – techniques for geolocation and information correlation.

His road was not without challenges. In addition to the very limited time, Okoro was working independently, in competition with teams. He says that this “required strong prioritization and decision-making throughout the process.” Another challenge Okoro faced was ensuring that not only were vulnerabilities identified, but that they were “clearly understood” and “their broader impact clearly articulated.”

In addition to these tangible toolkit items, Okoro believes that he was also aided in his pursuit of a solution by having a non-traditional cybersecurity background. Prior to his graduate-level IT studies at Lawrence Tech, he had experience in business analytics, user experience research, and technology strategy. “My preparation was primarily self-driven,” Okoro said, adding that he “focused on understanding the methodology behind cybersecurity investigations rather than just the tools themselves.”

“The experience was intense but very rewarding. It pushed me to think critically, manage time effectively, and stay focused under pressure, which made the achievement even more meaningful.”

– Uzma Sayyad

With a solution for the case study in hand and the competition deadline drawing closer, Okoro turned his attention to preparing the presentation to the panel of judges. He worked on constructing a clear narrative. “My goal was not just to show what I found, but to explain how I found it and why it mattered from a business perspective,” he explained. Importantly, he honed his presentation by simplifying technical concepts and using terms that would be understandable to a larger audience.

Both Okoro and Sayyad devised creative and comprehensive solutions to the problem posed in the case study, which they then wrapped into compelling presentations. This was the winning formula, which hit home with the ISACA Detroit panel of judges. Both tied for third place in the competition, a stunning achievement, and were each awarded cash prizes of $1,500.

But they are not stopping here. Okoro sees validation in this win for the effectiveness of his approach and way of thinking. Sayyad said that “the experience was intense but very rewarding. It pushed me to think critically, manage time effectively, and stay focused under pressure, which made the achievement even more meaningful.” Sayyad and Okoro have strengthened their interest in the cybersecurity and technology space strengthened, and will continue to develop their knowledge in user experience and technology strategy.

Professor DeSouza congratulated Sayyad and Okoro on their tremendous achievement. “I am very happy and proud of them and wish them continued success.”

Both Uzma Sayyad and Nicholas Okoro credit LTU’s College of Business and Information Technology and the involvement of professor DeSouza in preparing them for their successful competition experience. As Okoro said, “The program has helped me develop structured thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to apply concepts in practical scenarios.”