Northrop Grumman Awards Scholarships to CyberPatriot VII Winners

MCLEAN, Va., March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is helping tomorrow's cyber defenders further their education by awarding nearly $50,000 in scholarships to high school students on the winning teams of the CyberPatriot VII National Finals Competition.

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Winners were announced during the CyberPatriot VII Awards Banquet March 14 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, following a daylong competition on March 13. The Northrop Grumman Foundation is the presenting sponsor of CyberPatriot, the National Youth Cyber Education program created by the Air Force Association (AFA). A full list of winning teams from the cyber defense competition is as follows:

Open Division: 
National Champion:  Team CyberSloths, Grissom High School, Huntsville, Ala.; National Champion Runner-Up: Team Azure, North Hollywood High School, North Hollywood, Calif.; Third Place: Team Sudo, Summit Technology Academy, Lee Summit, Missouri.

All Service Division: 
National Champion:  Team Marine Raiders, Montachusett Regional Technical School, Fitchburg, Mass.; National Champion Runner-Up: T34m B1g S10ux, Big Sioux Composite Squadron, Brookings, South Dakota; Third Place: Team Left Coast, Fort Fisher Division, San Diego, Calif..

Middle School Division:
National Champion:  Team 1, Nysmith School for the Gifted, Herndon, Va.; National Champion Runner-Up: Team Food Fighters, Markham Place School, Little Silver, N.J.; Third Place:  Team Flaming Octopuses, Markham Place School, Little Silver, N.J..

Northrop Grumman collectively committed $48,000 to the winning competitors from the high school divisions. First place winners were each awarded $2,000, second place winners awarded $1,500 and third place winners awarded $1,000. This is the fifth year Northrop Grumman has provided scholarship funds, committing more than $250,000 in total scholarship funds over this period.

"We're making cyber education as accessible as possible by providing opportunities for a broad range of students because the best solutions to complex problems are developed by a highly diverse workforce," said Diane Miller, director, CyberPatriot programs, Northrop Grumman. "We are so proud of the students' accomplishments and are thrilled to be able to assist in helping tomorrow's cyber defenders further their education goals. We wish them continued success and look forward to their contribution to keeping our global networks safe."

"CyberPatriot has proven that it's got what it takes to generate excitement among students for a career in cybersecurity," said Sandra Evers-Manly, vice president, Global Corporate Responsibility and president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. "AFA has been a phenomenal partner that's dedicated themselves to building a program that's spurring on a whole new generation of cyber pros to address a critical global need. Congratulations to everyone who participated; we challenge AFA to again break its own record and see even more students take-on the challenge in CyberPatriot VIII."

This year's CyberPatriot VII National Finals Competition featured 28 high school and middle school teams, representing the top one percent nationwide, who competed to defend virtual networks and mobile devices from a professional aggressor team. The competition drew a record 2,175 teams, a 40 percent increase over last year. There was representation from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada and U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in both Europe and the Pacific.

In its fifth year as presenting sponsor, the Northrop Grumman Foundation and Northrop Grumman Corporation continue to devote time, talent and resources to support this critical STEM initiative. This month, the foundation extended its support through CyberPatriot XI (2019) with a $5.4 million grant to the AFA.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation

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