AUGUSTA, Ga. (WFXG) - It’s one of the biggest conferences in Augusta and now it’s back. Tuesday marked day two of TechNet, hosted by Nonprofit AFCEA International.

According to Destination Augusta, the event brings 5,000 people and nearly $4M in economic impact to the city. 

"We are always excited to host TechNet and TechNet is really a networking opportunity as well as an educational forum.” said Bennish Brown, Destination Augusta President. 

The conference-style event is considered meeting of the minds from industry to military.

"So, a tremendous boost to our economy and obviously, I think it also fits right in with where we stand in that whole ecosystem of cybersecurity.” said Brown. 

Folks walked the Augusta Marriott checking out several booths and even some outdoor exhibits.

"TechNet is the conference that AFCEA holds on an annual basis where they bring in ARCYBER and other DOD elements they have an interest in technology that would advance their ability to do offensive and defensive cyber.” said Tom Barnes, Parsons Vice President of Captured Management.

One way participants get to practice their skills is through a capture the flag event.

"Students, military members come in, test their knowledge on various topics depending upon the topic and difficulty level, that’s where the points are awarded and they kind of work through that.” said Barnes.

In total, 75 teams from 12 different countries participated. Barnes says that means this is bigger and better this time around.

"This is the first time that we’ve had teams from the international community fly in to Augusta, Georgia to compete in person. So, we have teams from Italy, we have teams from Qatar, and then we obviously have our US teams here so it’s been really good watching the engagements, the interactions between the teams – seeing them kind of share the skills and knowledge that they do have with each other.” said Barnes.

Team Segfaults from the Canadian Armed Forces took first place this year. Hi-Yi out of Taiwan's Chung Yuan Christian University came in second place and University of Central Florida's KnightSec finished in third.

The TechNet conference finishes its last day Thursday, August 18.

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