In conjunction with the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS), the Air Force Association announced Microsoft’s support for CyberPatriot, a one-of-a-kind nationwide high school cyber defense competition.

CyberPatriot is uniquely accessible to hundreds of high schools and likely the largest simultaneous high school cyber defense competition ever conducted. The scope of the competition is possible because the preparation and initial competitive phases are conducted entirely over the Internet. This year, teams from more than 200 high schools competed.

Microsoft will support the completion of this multi-stage computer security competition by providing software, including Windows Server, at no cost for all of the teachers and students participating. Students will then use the Microsoft software for learning, preparing, and competing in the event.

AFA’s CyberPatriot program has been ambitiously expanded in just its second year to offer this hands-on learning experience to as many students as possible, currently more than 1,000 students in teams of up to five from each school, and has room to continue growing next year. Limited to Air Force Junior ROTC and Civil Air Patrol high school students this year, the program will be offered to non-JROTC high schools beginning this spring. This AFA initiative promotes student career interest in cyber security and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics career fields, in keeping with AFA’s chartered mission to promote aerospace education.

The competition began November 7, narrowing the field in three successive rounds to the “elite eight” teams, who will compete in the championship round February 19 in Orlando, Florida, in conjunction with AFA’s annual Air Warfare Symposium at the Rosen Shingle Creek Convention Center. Teams in the finals are from Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York (2), and Utah. The winner in Orlando will attend the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in April and serve on the control team.

“We are extremely grateful for Microsoft’s generous support of this exciting project,” said S. Sanford Schlitt, AFA’s Vice Chairman for Aerospace Education. “This software will greatly enrich the learning experience for all of our future CyberPatriot teams.”

For more information on CyberPatriot II see CyberPatriot II, especially: CyberPatriot II Video.

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