Five Teams Advance to Finals in National Cyber Competition

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After four exciting rounds of competition and nearly five months of preparation, five All Service teams have advanced to the finals of CyberPatriot III, the nation's largest high school cyber defense competition.  

Today, CyberPatriot concluded its two-day semifinal round for the competition's All Service Division – comprised of Junior ROTC units of all Services and Civil Air Patrol squadrons – at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida, where 12 teams competed for the five spots in the finals.

Congratulations to the advancing teams:

• Ramona High School, Navy JROTC, Ramona, Calif.
• Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, Marine JROTC, Fitchburg, Mass.
• Clearfield High School, Air Force JROTC, Clearfield, Utah
• Buena High School, Army JROTC, Sierra Vista, Ariz.
• Orlando Cadet Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, Orlando, Fla.

"It was the fastest 8 hours of my life," said Josh Dovi, member of the Orlando Cadet Squadron.

CyberPatriot, created by the Air Force Association, is an education initiative that provides students hands-on learning about cyber security while virtually competing against their peers. More than 650 teams from all over the country registered to compete for the 2010-11 school year with nearly 450 signing up for the All Service Division.

Throughout the competition, teams race against the clock and their peers to find and correct weaknesses in simulated computer networks that have been pre-configured with security problems. This competition was the most difficult to date, with 12 systems having to be protected.

By participating in CyberPatriot, these students are learning valuable information to better protect themselves in a society that is highly dependent on cyber systems.

"It's really thrilling to be here," Dovi said about his team's placement in the finals. "At first we really didn't think we would make it, but with encouragement from our IT mentors and parents of the other team members, we were able to pull through."

"All the competitors here are true winners for the great amount of hard work they put into their performances throughout t his year's CyberPatriot challenge," said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. "Cyberspace is still a very complicated, growing domain with many potential threats, and it's very encouraging to see so many young people now interested and enthused about the world of cyber security."

The championship round will take place March 31 to April 1, at the Gaylord National Hotel in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with AFA's CyberFutures Conference and Technology Exposition.

CyberPatriot is presented by Northrop Grumman, with founding partners SAIC and the CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio. More information can be found on CyberPatriot at www.uscyberpatriot.org.

AFA is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation. AFA has over 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing 120,000 members. Visit AFA at www.afa.org.

SOURCE Air Force Association