CyberPatriot IV Update

AFA's CyberPatriot is preparing for another round of competition this weekend, with the All Service Division entering the second preliminary round.

In the meantime, the headquarters staff has been working even harder to expand the educational reach of the competition, which includes the addition of a forensics element in the national finals competition and the completion of a pre-competition survey.

During the National Finals Competition of CyberPatriot IV, 24 teams of finalists will compete in a new forensics exercise, teaching about and testing high school competitors on the exciting field of cyber forensics through the application of crime scene analysis, evidence gathering and critical thinking. The expansion to the competition has been made possible by the Defense Cyber Crime Center.

And after distribution to 1,000-plus student competitors, CyberPatriot IV’s pre-competition survey was completed earlier this month, gathering information on participants’ general knowledge of all things cyber. The survey asked questions addressing students’ overall understanding of cyber security and their likeliness to pursue a career is science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics. Results will be compared with a similar survey after the completion of this year’s competition. This survey is an analytical effort to measure the effect CyberPatriot is having on the students who participate in the competition.

“This competition is about academic growth and teaching beyond the fundamental curriculum found in schools,” said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner.

AFA Congratulates CyberPatriot Teams for ‘Spirited’ Competition

The CyberPatriot IV competition officially began Friday, October 28, 2011, with more than 600 All Service teams registered to aggressively defend virtualized networks of computers, racing against the clock to fortify their simulated systems.

Established by AFA, CyberPatriot is the nation’s largest high school cyber security challenge. This unique competition was designed to give students a hands-on learning experience in cybersecurity and inspire students to consider science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields in their studies.

After six hours of competition this past weekend, the All Service teams have now jumped their first hurdle as they fight their way to the finals. The composite score of the first and second preliminary rounds will determine which teams advance to Round 3 (the Round of 36 teams). Following that, the top 12 qualifying teams then receive all-expenses-paid trips to the CyberPatriot National Championship Competition held in the Washington, DC area, in March 2012.

“It was a spirited first round of competition, where students overcame technical glitches and displayed exceptional performance,” said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. “We congratulate all of them on a job well done! This round saw the most students competing at one time than we’ve ever had. We hope the competitors had a great time and will be ready to compete again in round two.”

Timmerman Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, Wisconsin Wing,
competing in the first preliminary round of CyberPatriot IV!

Preliminary rounds for the competition are conducted online from the teams’ home locations. The next round for the All Service teams will start on December 2, while the Open Division begins competing on November 4.

CyberPatriot Goes International

AFA is proud to announce that this year’s CyberPatriot competition has more than 1,000 teams registered, comprised not only of U.S. students, but also several Canadian teams. 

CyberPatriot IV welcomes a contingent of five teams from the province of Manitoba, Canada, participating in CyberPatriot’s initial international expansion. Sisler High School, Arts and Technology Centre, and Technical Vocational High School in Winnipeg; Garden Valley Collegiate in Winkler; and Morden Collegiate in Morden will compete alongside the competition’s Open Division.

Besides having teams representing all 50 states and DC, CyberPatriot also has teams in Puerto Rico and U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in both Europe and the Pacific. But this is the competition’s first effort to include a non-U.S. affiliated school.

“I am very pleased with the growth of this program, seeing that it is not only reaching all 50 states here in this country, but attracting educators and students beyond our borders,” said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. “Cyber security is a global concern and this program is equipping thousands of students with the technical basics to better protect themselves.”

CyberPatriot is presented by Northrop Grumman, with founding partners SAIC and the CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio.

CyberPatriot IV - Don't forget to register!

Is your local high school participating in CyberPatriot? Do they have what it takes? Because we think they do! 

Don't forget to register for CyberPatriot IV -- the premier national cyber defense competition for high school students!

From smart phones and emails to online banking and shopping, so many of our daily activities involve access to the cyber world. The nation’s dependency on cyber networks continues to increase and with it the potential for cyber threats. This is why CyberPatriot was created!

Open to all high school students, CyberPatriot is the ultimate cyber game! Competitors get to control computer networks, learning to defend and protect computer systems from cyber threats and potential hackers. Established by the AFA, this program provides students hands-on learning about technology, emphasizing teamwork and leadership, and exercising critical-thinking skills.

Find out if your area is being represented in CyberPatriot.Help spread the word across the country to all 50 states! Registration ends October 8th. 

For more information on CyberPatriot, go to www.uscyberpatriot.org.

Five-Year Campaign of Cyber Spying Uncovered

An AFA state leader sent us this interview carried out by PBS on a massive campaign of cyber spying.The public learned this week of a five-year, high-level hacking campaign that infiltrated computer systems of more than 70 governments, corporations and public and private organizations in 14 countries.

The campaign was uncovered by McAfee and a Vanity Fair reporter broke the story.

Check out the interview here.

CyberPatriot’s place in the media continues to grow!

Graham Warwick of Aviation Week and Technology Magazine just published a great article this week concerning the need for attracting a younger generation to cybersecurity.

 “For some, the search for both engineers and cybersecurity professionals leads back to the same issue – the need to reinvigorate science and math education in schools to refill a dwindling pipeline.”

Just what AFA's CyberPatriot aims to do! CyberPatriot provides high school students the technical skills, preparing them for a workforce that desperately needs them. It attracts students to the idea of cyber security, creating a career path and opportunities for students.

Warwick spoke with various aerospace and defense companies about their current and future needs to retain and fill STEM-related positions, spotlighting CyberPatriot as being a major recruiting ground for industry and government.

CyberPatriot isn’t just the ultimate cyber game for high schools students. It doesn’t just provide students experiential learning and valuable cyber security skills. It’s also creating a pipeline of students to be the next generation of engineers, mathematicians and scientists.

Read Warwick’s full article here: http://www.uscyberpatriot.org/Documents/Aviation_wek%20May_23_2011.pdf