STEM supported CyberPatriot team ranked 1st in Tennessee

  • Published
  • By Raquel March
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  The Coffee County Central High School (CCCHS) Air Force Junior ROTC CyberPatriot team recently visited Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) where they were recognized by the Air Force Association (AFA) for finishing first among six other teams in the state.

Claude Morse, president of the Gen. H.H. Arnold AFA Chapter, presented the recognition to the team while AEDC Commander Col. Raymond Toth congratulated them on their accomplishment. AEDC's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) coordinator provided sponsorship for the team and AEDC employees Michael Glennon and Cameron Liner were the team's coaches.

The team participated in two competitions beginning last November and in February 2013.

Liner spoke of the team's experiences saying, "They understood that it is good practice to install virus protection on their home computers but they lacked an understanding of the active attacks against them and our nation as a whole."

Teams were prompted with different scenarios to identify and defend against vulnerabilities in computer operating systems. CCCHS CyberPatriot team registered to compete in next year's CyberPatriot VI.

CyberPatriot is the premiere national high school cyber defense competition created by the AFA to inspire high school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other STEM disciplines critical to our nation's future.

CyberPatriot was established by the AFA and The Northrop Grumman Foundation is the sponsor for the program. The organizations founding partners are the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at the University of Texas-San Antonio.