SECURING NETWORKS,
SECURING FUTURES
By Rebecca Dalton
CyberPatriot might be a young program, but it’s
doing big things. From competition restructuring to
new program releases, AFA’s National Youth Cyber
Education Program is exceeding expectations.
NATIONAL YOUTH CYBER
DEFENSE COMPETITION
With more teams, more rounds of
competition, and enhancements to
the CyberPatriot competition system,
CyberPatriot VII was the most exciting
season the program has seen.
Designed to attract high school and
middle school students to the world
of cybersecurity by teaching how to
defend and harden computer networks,
the cybersecurity challenge underwent
many changes to keep the competing
teams engaged throughout the season.
Most notably, a new tier system
divided teams into silver, gold, and
platinum levels based on scores in the
first two qualifying rounds. This enabled teams to compete against others
of similar skill levels and allowed more
teams to earn recognition for their
achievements.
All teams continued to compete for
state and regional honors within their
tiers, but only platinum tier teams
competed to advance to the National
Finals Competition in National Harbor,
Md., in March.
Additionally, team roster size was
reduced from 10 students to six to maximize individual participation. With the
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decrease in roster size, coaches were
allowed to field up to five teams.
Most popular among the competitors
was the release of version 3.0 of the CyberPatriot scoring system. It introduced
an interactive public scoreboard, visual
scoring queues for the hearing impaired,
and enhancements to the scoring engine’s capabilities to monitor complex
vulnerabilities.
Registration for CyberPatriot VIII
(the 2015-16 season) is open now! To
register, visit http://www.uscyberpatriot.org.
AFA CYBERCAMPS
After a successful pilot program during
the summer of 2014, AFA CyberCamps
are now available nationwide. With a
handful of camps already booked, the
CyberPatriot program office anticipates
deploying a dozen camps during 2015.
“By allowing schools and organizations to introduce students to cybersecurity year-round, the AFA CyberCamp
program is an important supplement,”
said CyberCamp Program Manager
Leslie Walczak. “We are extremely
excited to expose more students to the
fascinating field of cybersecurity through
the hands-on CyberCamp curriculum.”
The AFA CyberCamp curriculum
kit is designed for students with little
or no cybersecurity knowledge and
includes detailed instructor’s guides for
local teachers and volunteers. Through
a one-day or one-week AFA CyberCamp,
a school or approved educational organization can host a camp and teach
important cybersecurity and cyber ethics skills that all students should have,
whether or not they go on to participate
in AFA’s formal yearlong competition.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CYBER
EDUCATION INITIATIVE
Young children have become more
active in using technology, so it is critical
they understand the potential threats
that come with it. The Elementary
School Cyber Education Initiative, or
ESCEI, launching in May, will equip
students with the skills needed to better
protect themselves on the Internet and
encourage them to apply cyber ethics and
principles in their online interactions.
“As the Internet becomes an evergreater component of everyday life, it
is increasingly important that people
of all ages are equipped with the tools
to keep themselves safe online,” said
ESCEI Program Manager Ryne Smith.
Wingman Magazine ︱ May 2015
Photos by David Keith
CyberPatriot VII’s National Finals
took place in March. Team “CyberSloths” from Grissom High School in
Huntsville, Ala., was the Open Division winner. Chris Sutton coached
the students. At far left is Bernie
Skoch, the CyberPatriot national
commissioner. At far right is AFA
Board Chairman Scott Van Cleef.
The All-Service Division champions
came from Montachusetts Regional
Vocational Technical School in Fitchburg, Mass. They nicknamed their
team “Marine Raiders” and were led
by longtime CyberPatriot coach Paul
Jornet.
Students from Nysmith School for the
Gifted in Herndon, Va., made their
first trip to the National Finals and
came away as the Middle School Division champion. The team members,
coached by Bonnie McCrystal, are in
grades six through eight.
“AFA is acutely aware of this need and
has developed a fun and engaging way
of teaching these cybersecurity concepts
to our nation’s [kindergarten through
grade six] students.”
Thanks to a special grant from Cyber Gold sponsor Riverside Research,
headquartered in New York, participation in the initiative is completely free.
Schools and educational organizations
can request hard-copy discs containing
several activities that will serve as an
introduction to cybersecurity, cyber
ethics, online safety, and basic system
Wingman Magazine︱ May 2015
hardening. The software and accompanying start-up guide are available
at the CyberPatriot website (http://
www.uscyberpatriot.org) for direct
download.
AFA CHAPTERS, WE NEED
YOUR HELP!
Full information on how chapters
can be even more involved in AFA’s
fl agship STEM education program is
available from the CyberPatriot Program
Office and on its website: http://www.
uscyberpatriot.org.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Contact the CyberPatriot
Program Office:
[email protected]
(877) 885-5716
http://www.uscyberpatriot.org
For more on CyberPatriot, read
“Growing STEM Students Through CyberPatriot,” Air Force Magazine, March
2015, p. 58.
✪
Rebecca Dalton is CyberPatriot’ s sponsorship and outreach coordinator.
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