CyberPatriot Participants Represent 49 States, Several Countries in CyberPatriot VII

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the fourth consecutive year, the Air Force Association's CyberPatriot program expects to have all 50 US states represented in its national youth cyber defense competition.  Over 1,200 teams have registered from 49 states, missing only Montana.  Teams have also registered from the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Germany, South Korea, and Canada.

CyberPatriot has experienced tremendous growth since 2009 and this year was no different.  The CyberPatriot program unveiled a pilot middle school program in 2013 with 70 teams participating.  This year's competition will include a fully integrated middle school division. CyberPatriot has also upgraded the competition scoring engine, CyberPatriot Competition System (CCS), to enhance the user experience.   An addition to the CyberPatriot program included in AFA CyberCamps, which were highly successful during their 2014 summer pilot. 

CyberPatriot is committed to expanding its reach by educating younger students than in previous years. The Elementary School Cyber Education Initiative will launch later this year, students will be introduced to cybersecurity, cyber ethics, online safety, and basic system hardening through an exciting game-like activity.

"CyberPatriot continues to grow.  The summer AFA CyberCamp pilots and elementary school programs have been very successful.  The middle school competition division, a new addition this year, allows us to expand our educational footprint while highlighting the importance of STEM-focused education earlier," said CyberPatriot National Commissioner Bernie Skoch.  "We anticipate reporting participants from all 50 states, as we have for the past 3 years."

CyberPatriot is the premier national high school cyber defense competition created by the Air Force Association to inspire high school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation's future. Teams across the country and in other parts of the world compete in a series of online rounds to determine finalists for an all-expenses-paid trip to the CyberPatriot National Finals Competition in the nation's capital in March 2015.

CyberPatriot, the nation's largest and fastest growing youth cyber education program, is AFA's flagship STEM program dedicated to strengthening cyber skills among American youth. Students in the program also gain valuable knowledge from the expertise of CyberPatriot's many supporters, including the Northrop Grumman Foundation, CyberPatriot's presenting sponsor. CyberPatriot's other sponsors include Cyber Diamond sponsors AT&T Federal and the AT&T Foundation, Cisco, Microsoft, USA Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Cyber Gold sponsors URS, Riverside Research, Splunk, and Symantec; and Cyber Silver sponsors Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Leidos, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and University of Maryland University College.

The registration deadline for CyberPatriot VII is October 10, 2014.  To register, visit https://www.uscyberpatriot.org/Pages/Get%20Involved/Volunteer-Registration-Form.aspx.

To learn more about the program and register for CyberPatriot VII please visit www.uscyberpatriot.org.  Information is also available from the CyberPatriot staff at [email protected].

The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage. To accomplish this, we:

• EDUCATE the public on the critical need for unmatched aerospace power and a technically superior workforce to ensure U.S. national security.
• ADVOCATE for aerospace power and STEM education.
• SUPPORT the Total Air Force family and promote aerospace education.

AFA has 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing 100,000 members. Visit AFA at www.afa.org.

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SOURCE Air Force Association

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