Kennesaw State’s Owl Cyber Team earns top finish in national cybersecurity competition
Among the newest student organizations on campus, Kennesaw State University’s Owl Cyber Team recently reached the semifinals in the CyberLLM Challenge. Held during the Silicon Valley Cybersecurity Conference 2025, the event focuses on developing innovative applications to improve areas like threat detection and cybersecurity automation.
The team, consisting of cybersecurity student Lisa Thiongo, information systems student Christopher Forrester-Jack from the Michael J. Coles College of Business, and software engineering student Cassidie Grogan, developed an original project titled the QR Malware Scanner. The tool uses a large language model (LLM), an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system trained to process and interpret human language and analyze QR codes for malicious links. Competing against students from the Ivy League and leading institutions like San Jose State University, the Owl Cyber Team stood out as the only Georgia-based team to qualify.
“Everywhere we go now, we’re scanning QR codes, but how do we know if they’re safe?” said Manohar Raavi, assistant professor of computer science and the team’s faculty mentor. “Their project directly addresses real-world issues, and to see the students succeed at such a high level on their first attempt is incredible.”
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