NGN Goes Phishing for Connections at Spooktacular IT Halloween Party

On Tuesday, members of the Yale IT community crept, crawled, and coded their way to 25 Science Park for a Halloween celebration. The event offered the perfect mix of fright and delight — time to mingle, admire costumes, and indulge in sweet treats good enough to wake the dead.

The 5th floor was alive with the whoosh of Glinda’s wand, the thump of Gandalf’s staff, and the ghostly glitch of a production bug lurking in someone’s software. Thankfully, 25 Science Park is running on NGN, so even the clever Cyber Pirates in attendance couldn’t hack their way into the network.

Several members of the Next Generation Network (NGN) program were there to represent the team, make new connections, and share some of the program’s fang-tastic progress. The OCM team banded together as “phishers” — not the kind that reel in real login info, but the kind that raise awareness about cybersecurity and reel in laughs instead. Other NGN team members conjured up creative costumes, including “Life and Death,” Bill Nye the Science Guy, and a fearless Viking warrior.

Whether attendees came for the cookies, candy, and cupcakes or simply for the costumes and camaraderie, the afternoon was full of spirit (and maybe a few ghosts). Guests joined in on games like guessing how many Starbursts were packed into a jar, and the costume contest had everyone voting for their favorite individual and group ensembles. Though the NGN team didn’t take home the gold this year (a fab-boo-lous pumpkin patch stole the show), they left with plenty of chocolate, new friends, and enough laughter to last until next Halloween.

The NGN team is already brewing ideas for next year’s festivities, but until then, they’re witching everyone a frightfully fun and safe Halloween!