Local CyberPatriot teams receive high ranks in competition

  • Published
  • By Raquel March
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  The CyberPatriot VIII program marked a 55 percent increase in team registrations this competition year and the Coffee County Central High School Air Force Junior ROTC Team 1 and the Civil Air Patrol Tullahoma Composite Squadron received high rankings among 64 teams in Tennessee.

The CCCHS Team 1 ranked second in the state in the All Service Platinum category and CAP-Tullahoma ranked second in the All Service Gold category. During the CyberPatriot competition, the teams were presented with finding and solving security vulnerabilities in simulated cyber networks.

Within the United States and U.S. territories, 3,379 teams registered for the national competition which began with practice rounds in October 2015 and progressed to a series of online qualifying rounds.

The teams were cited in their awards for their outstanding technical skill, problem solving and teamwork. The teams' award certificates were signed by Bernard Skoch, Cyber Patriot national commissioner.

"The growth and expansion of the CyberPatriot program has been astounding and we couldn't be more proud to be influencing young people around the world to learn more about STEM education, specifically in cyber," Skoch said.

CyberPatriot is the national high school cyber defense competition created to inspire high school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines critical to the nation's future. CyberPatriot is open to all high schools, Civil Air Patrol Units, JROTC Units, U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Units and accredited home school programs around the country.

CyberPatriot was established by the Air Force Association. The Northrop Grumman Foundation is the presenting sponsor for CyberPatriot.

The AEDC STEM Center sponsors two CCCHS CyberPatriot teams and the Civil Air Patrol Tullahoma Composite Squadron.

-AEDC-