National High School Cyber Defense Competition Passes 300 Team Registrants

ARLINGTON, Va., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Registration is now underway for the nation's largest and fastest growing high school cyber defense competition, CyberPatriot V!  With more than 320 teams in 43 states already being organized, word is getting out to educators across the country. Among those now registered are also teams from U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Korea and Italy, and teams from the Manitoba Province of Canada.

"Over the past years we've seen thousands of students enriched by the skills and educational experiences offered by CyberPatriot," said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. "This competition doesn't just teach students about the evolving world of cyber, but also leads to more options for a college or vocational educational track. Last year at this time, we were only slightly over 100 teams registered. So to see that number more than double is exciting, and we truly are looking forward to the upcoming season."

Established by the Air Force Association, CyberPatriot is a team-based activity, where students learn to defend a computer network from real-life computer threat scenarios. In the fall, teams across the nation will square off online, using special software provided by CyberPatriot to competitively solve vulnerabilities in their networks. The top teams then compete again in a series of online rounds to determine finalists for an all-expenses-paid trip to the nation's capital and the Championship Round in March 2013.

CyberPatriot IV saw more than 1,000 teams register, representing all 50 states and Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Europe and the Pacific. It also brought the first international exhibition teams with several teams from the Manitoba Province in Canada competing parallel to the American teams. In addition, top winners from each division received more than $50,000 in college scholarships from the Northrop Grumman Foundation, CyberPatriot's presenting sponsor.

Registration for CyberPatriot V closes on September 30, 2012. Any high school can field a team for the Open Division, while Junior ROTC units from any Service or Civil Air Patrol are eligible to field teams in the All Service Division. The educational experience and materials are identical for students in either division.

Other CyberPatriot sponsors include founding partners SAIC and CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio, as well as AT&T, Boeing, General Dynamics, Microsoft, Raytheon, the Air Force Research Laboratory, MIT-Lincoln Laboratory, Cisco, URS and K2Share.

Coaches can learn more about CyberPatriot and sign up at 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 more than 108,000 members.  Visit AFA on the internet at www.afa.org.

SOURCE Air Force Association