Brookings S.D. (KELO AM) - The Civil Air Patrol cyber-security team from the South Dakota Wing’s Big Sioux Composite Squadron (Brookings) taking part in “CyberPatriot VI” scored big in the competition’s first round held on 15 November.
This year’s the squadron’s cyber-forensics team members are Cadet Captain Joshua Klosterman (Team Captain), Cadet Master Sergeant Chris Dinnel, Cadet Master Sergeant Laura Rudnik, Cadet Airman Zebadiah Nelson, Cadet Josiah Jorenby and Cadet Second Lieutenant Tyler Gross (Coach).
In the first round, the Big Sioux Composite Squadron CyberPatriot team, competing in the All Service Division, received 180 points out of a possible 200. They are tied for third place in their division overall and first among CAP units. All the teams move on to the second round which will be held 6-8 December. From there, both rounds will be tallied and the top scoring teams will move on to third round.
CyberPatriot is a national high school cyber defense competition. It is designed to give hands-on exposure to the foundations of cybersecurity. The Air Force Association created it in 2008 to inspire high school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to the nation’s future.
CyberPatriot is not a hacking competition. It emphasizes the use of computer forensics to locate and fix vulnerabilities and harden systems against hacking.
There are two Divisions in the CyberPatriot competition: The “Open Division” – for accredited public or private institutions, registered home school associations, and community organizations like the Boy Scouts and Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Teams participating came from all 50 states, U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Europe and the Pacific, and Canada.
The “All Service Division” is for students in Junior ROTC programs, Civil Air Patrol squadrons, and Naval Sea Cadet units. The two Divisions run parallel competitions; teams in one Division do not compete against teams in the other. Over 1,000 teams are competing in the two divisions with over 400 of them competing in the All Service Division.
Finalists receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in person at the national finals competition.
Last year in CyberPatriot V, the Big Sioux Composite Squadron’s cyber-security team captured the first Cisco Networking Challenge in cyber forensics.
The CyberPatriot competition is presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation, with founding partners Science Applications International Corporation and the Center for Information Assurance and Security at the University of Texas-San Antonio. CyberPatriot is also a member of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a national coalition of public-private sector entities collaborating to enhance the workforce with the next generation of cyber security professionals.
More information can be found at the CyberPatriot website or the CyberPatriot Facebook page.