Cyber 9/12 reflection↗sanford.duke.edu
The Cyber Devils – Duke’s student team of Adrian Schmeichler T’28, Eli Coustan T’29, Phineas Quigley T’29 and Marilyn Zhao T’29 – won first place in the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative 2026 Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge. Held March 7-8 in Washington, D.C., the competition challenged students to respond to a realistic, evolving scenario of international cyber crisis by analyzing the threat it posed to national, international and private-sector interests, and presenting recommendations on the best course of action to mitigate the crisis. In the reflections below, two team members share their experiences.