Do I need any experience to join?
No experience is required. Most members start with zero security background. We teach from the fundamentals up (see Resources), and meetings are built for people learning as they go.
What do meetings actually look like?
Tuesdays are our general meetings, open to everyone, with topics that span both cybersecurity and computer science more broadly. Thursdays are Cyber Defense Team meetings: more targeted competition training focused on security engineering and incident response, with topics that lean more specifically into cybersecurity.
Thursday meetings are open to all members too, but attending them isn't a prerequisite for being part of the club. Come to whichever meetings interest you. Attendance isn't required, though it's highly encouraged, since the goal is just to leave knowing a bit more and having made a few new connections. We try to keep things as accessible as possible.
What if I miss a meeting, or can't make it in person?
Meetings aren't mandatory and there's no penalty for skipping. If you can't make it in person, you're welcome to join along on Discord instead. Check the Schedule for what's coming up, and contact an officer for access to our meeting archive, including past content and recordings, to catch up on anything you missed.
Looking ahead, we're working with departmental and industry connections to build out better offline and asynchronous ways to stay involved with the club.
Does it cost anything to join?
The club itself is free. Some competitions we compete in have a small entry fee (see Competitions for which ones), but plenty are free too. For competitions like NCL, we have avenues for obtaining funding if cost is a barrier: just reach out to an officer and we're happy to help.
Do I need my own laptop or special hardware?
A laptop that can run a virtual machine is enough. See our installation guides for Windows and Mac setup. No special hardware required.
How do I actually join?
Come to a Tuesday or Thursday meeting, or say hi in Discord first if you want to ask questions before showing up.
