CyberTacticsForge is dedicated to closing the critical gap in practical cybersecurity education. We provide students with authentic, hands-on experiences that transform curiosity into career-ready skills. Our work is focused on two primary initiatives: running a flagship regional competition and empowering educators to build similar programs in their own communities.
Our flagship event, the pps{CyberTacticsFest}, is more than just a competition; it’s a capstone experience built on a season of hands-on training. We move beyond theory by giving students real tools to solve real problems in a competitive, team-based environment. Participants learn offensive and defensive techniques through weekly training, mentorship, and mini-challenges, ensuring that every skill used in the final event has been transparently taught and practiced. This approach builds confidence, fosters teamwork, and makes cybersecurity accessible to all students, regardless of their background.
Our mission extends beyond a single event. We are building an ecosystem to support young talent and the educators who guide them. This includes:
CyberTacticsForge exists to transform natural curiosity and competitive spirit into recognized talent and lasting opportunity. We foster cybersecurity teams, sharpen their skills with real- world offensive and defensive techniques, and grow their potential through strategic challenges, mentorship, and competition within a structured, supportive environment.
Our vision is to cultivate strategic, ethical minds who recognize the power of their skills, the responsibility of their actions, and the impact they can have in securing tomorrow’s world while forging a community that grows through mentorship, sharpens through competition, and where students are prepared to anticipate and outmaneuver threats.
A veteran teacher of Pittsburgh Public Schools and an Intelligence Analyst and Cyber Operations Specialist with the U.S. Army Reserve. Mr. Boyce found a unmet need in cybersecurity among secondary students in the Pittsburgh area. He started teaching a course on offensive/defensive cyber operations that turned into a competition aimed at secondary students called pps{CyberTacticsFest}, due to the growth of this competition he founded the CyberTacticsForge to offer his students more opportunities and provide more relevant and engaging content as well as to provide students in SW PA with more opportunities. Mr. Boyce hopes help grow local cybersecuirty talent in Pittsburgh and assist teachers across the county in doing the same in their area.
A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Taylor McCampbell serves as the Board Chair for CyberTacticsForge. As a lead coordinator and challenge author for picoCTF, he has been instrumental in connecting graduate students and educators with the pps{CyberTacticsFest}. His research at Carnegie Mellon’s CyLab focuses on lowering barriers for K–12 teachers to integrate cybersecurity education into their classrooms, aligning directly with CyberTacticsForge’s mission to expand access to hands-on cybersecurity learning. Taylor’s curiosity, mentorship, and commitment to authentic engagement continue to shape the organization’s growth and impact.
A passionate educator and administrator in Pittsburgh Public Schools, Vincent is known for his hands-on leadership. He is the familiar face that engages with students and teachers in schools across the district. Deeply connected to the educational community, he coordinates opportunities for Pittsburgh students to engage in local and regional STEAM programs and initiatives, building meaningful bridges between classrooms and real-world experiences. As Vice Chair, Vincent guides CyberTacticsForge’s efforts to reach students and schools where the impact will be most meaningful, amplifying student voice and creating pathways for mentorship and authentic learning.
As a retired teacher with Pittsburgh Public Schools, Glenn brings a nuanced and practical understanding of how to collaborate effectively with school administration while maintaining a strong focus on student experience. With extensive experience in workforce development and education-to-industry pipelines, Glenn explores and expands opportunities for students to gain applicable, real-world experience. As the Executive Director of Aerium, a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3), he leads efforts to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation AAM, UAS, and crewed aircraft technologies—and to develop the workforce that will build, operate, and sustain them.
A Master Host Analyst and Cyber Operations Specialist in the U.S. Army Reserve, Mr. Miller brings extensive real-world expertise to CyberTacticsForge. As a full-time network defender with experience as a Director of Information, Threat Hunter, and Information Security Manager, he ensures that CyberTacticsForge provides participants with relevant, industry-aligned, and marketable skills. His leadership helps maintain the organization’s focus on delivering authentic, hands-on experiences that reflect the current demands of the cybersecurity field.
A graduate student in Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh, Tanishka brings experience from her software engineering work with Vertex Inc., Red Hat, and Razorpay to her role with CyberTacticsForge. Methodical and forward-thinking in her approach, she serves as a mentor helping to shape the defensive work roles for the upcoming pps{CyberTacticsFest}. Tanishka is developing structure, integration, and presentation of defensive challenges. She is passionate about ensuring students not only gain practical, industry-relevant skills, but also a clear understanding of how defense fits into the larger cybersecurity landscape.
A cybersecurity student at Robert Morris University, Mintas is tackling the wireless and radio-frequency defense components of the upcoming pps{CyberTacticsFest}. Methodical, communicative, and highly self-motivated, he has been instrumental in shaping how wireless defense work roles will appear in the final competition, from technical design to student-facing presentation. Mintas currently trains with the same toolset used in the event and has also supported outreach efforts, helping to bring new partners such as the Western Area Career & Technology Center into the CyberTacticsForge community. His enthusiasm for hands-on learning and his interest in developing a future UAS hacking competition reflect his growing leadership in the field of cybersecurity education.
We are always looking for passionate professionals to help shape the next generation of cybersecurity talent. Explore the roles below or view our formal invitation for more details.
As a coach, you will be attached to a team of 4-8 students who are expected to learn 1-4 ‘work roles’ each. You will be given access to the cyber.org range to hold practices outside of the normal presentation times. Practice times will be up to you and your team. The content of the practices can be as simple as a review of the concepts and skills taught in the combined practice or a practical exercise for the team, as the combined practices tend to lack the repetitions needed to develop skills.
As a mentor, you will be attached to a single ‘work role’ and the skills associated with it. You will assist in the application and integration of that work role more vertically by helping develop flag locations in the final competition, creating small-team challenges, and presenting the work role during combined practices. The time commitment is task-based, and you will be given access to our tools and platforms to develop feasible and effective practical exercises.
As a developer, you will assist in creating the final competition scenario, which involves a fictional school where something mysterious is happening. This requires developing target machines and crafting scenarios that test a broad range of skills. Alternatively, you may help develop capabilities to monitor the competition, such as integrating CTFd for flag submission, implementing SecOnion for automatic scoring, or creating a live scoreboard and broadcast.