For Immediate Release
October 8, 2010

600 Teams Now Registered for Innovative Cybersecurity Competition
Schools and CAP Squadrons Still Have Time to Register for Cybersecurity Education Initiative

Arlington, VA – The nation’s largest and fastest-growing high school cyber defense challenge now has more than 600 teams registered to participate. CyberPatriotis attracting high school educators across the country and continues to provide an incomparable opportunity for students to learn about cybersecurity.

CyberPatriotis the one-of-a-kind national cybersecurity competition produced by the Air Force Association (AFA), a nonprofit organization headquartered near Washington, D.C. Its unique structure provides students hands-on learning about the cyber security field while competing virtually against their peers.

Forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Japan and Korea are represented in this year’s competition. Only Montana and Wyoming have yet to join. Time still remains for schools and Civil Air Patrol squadrons to field teams.

Teams have registered from public, private, parochial and home schools in many states in the competition’s Open Division. Additionally, Junior ROTC units of all Services and Civil Air Patrol squadrons are rapidly filling the All-Service Division in the two-track competition.

Teams of five, with an approved coach (usually a teacher), learn to defend computer networks from real-life computer threat scenarios. In the preliminaries, hundreds of teams compete online using software provided by CyberPatriotto competitively solve vulnerabilities in a network. The top teams then compete again in a series of online rounds to determine the finalists for an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. and the Championship Round at the Gaylord National Convention Center in April 2011.

“CyberPatriotis designed to inform today’s youth on cybersecurity and motivate them to become the cyber defenders the nation needs,” said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriotCommissioner. “Our competition is going to have a great impact on the future of cybersecurity while providing a fun, educational experience.”

Coaches can learn more about CyberPatriotand sign up at www.uscyberpatriot.org. Information is also available from the CyberPatriotstaff at info@uscyberpatriot.org.

CyberPatriotis presented by Northrop Grumman, with founding partners SAIC and the CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio.

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The 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 www.AFA.org.

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