PALM HARBOR, FL--(Marketwire - Jul 18, 2011) - (ISC)²® ("ISC-squared"), the world's largest not-for-profit information security professional body and administrators of the CISSP®, today announced new scholarship recipients associated with the U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC), a national public-private partnership formed to significantly reduce the shortage in the cybersecurity workforce. This summer, the USCC is providing a series of five "Cyber Camps" to high school and college students. The Camps, led by college faculty and cyber security experts, are designed to provide specialized cybersecurity training, as well as other opportunities for the students to enhance their skills to become the nation's next generation of cyber security professionals.
As a part of its commitment with the USCC, (ISC)2 is providing $1,000 college scholarships and vouchers for the (ISC)² Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP®) exam to the winners of the "Skills Challenge/Virtual Capture-the-Flag Competition," which occurs at the end of each Cyber Camp week. In addition, to continue the journey for these aspiring information security professionals, (ISC)2 is supporting the Cyber Camps through a sustaining alliance, offering opportunities for camp attendees to participate in security credentialing processes, providing courseware and materials to teachers and schools, and other in-kind support.
The first round of Cyber Camps took place July 11-15 at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (open to eligible participants age eighteen and older) and the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex campus (open to high school students). The "Skills Challenge/Virtual Capture-the-Flag Competitions" took place at each camp Friday morning, with the winners announced later that day. (ISC)2 recognized these winners during ceremonies held Friday afternoon at each camp, providing them with scholarships and vouchers and inclusion in (ISC)2's new Aspiring Security Professionals Program.
"As part of (ISC)²'s Information Security Scholarship Program, we are committed to cultivating the next generation of cybersecurity professionals and to offering tools to help them develop skills lacking in the workforce," said W. Hord Tipton, CISSP-ISSEP, CAP, CISA, executive director of (ISC)². "We congratulate these winners and couldn't be more thrilled to give back to the community and honored to get involved with the U.S. Cyber Challenge and the Cyber Camps to create new career opportunities for these aspiring information security professionals. We're truly looking to uncover America's best and brightest future cybersecurity professionals."
"The commitment of (ISC)2 to the Cyber Camps is important to the success of the program, and we are thankful for their support and generosity to the critical cause of identifying and developing cyber security talent to meet the country's critical cyber security workforce needs," said Karen S. Evans, USCC National Director. "As the volume and complexity of cyber attacks increase, the information security industry is in total agreement on the importance of recruiting and retaining a new workforce capable of preventing, detecting and responding to attacks on our information systems, and it's crucial that organizations such as (ISC)2 get involved to help realize this goal."
About the U.S. Cyber Challenge Cyber Camps
The U.S. Cyber Camp curriculum includes in-depth workshops on a range of topics, including penetration testing, reverse engineering, and forensics, all taught by college faculty, SANS Institute senior instructors and other cyber security experts. In addition to providing expert training for participants to improve their skills and employment potential, the Cyber Camps will provide attendees the opportunity to engage with major technology companies and government agencies at onsite career fairs for internship and employment opportunities.
Attendees to the invitation-only camps were selected based in part on their scores from Cyber Quests, an online competition offered through the U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC) in April that drew more than 800 participants from approximately 400 schools nationwide. The camps will take place in California (July 11-15) at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Maryland (July 11-15) at the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex; Missouri (July 25-29) at the University of Missouri, Columbia; Virginia (August 1-5) at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, Richmond; and Delaware (August 8-12) at Delaware Technical and Community College, Dover
About U.S. Cyber Challenge
The mission of the U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC), a division of the Center for Internet Security, is to significantly reduce the shortage in the cyber workforce by serving as the premier program to identify, recruit and place the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. USCC's goal is to find 10,000 of America's best and brightest to fill the ranks of cybersecurity professionals where their skills can be of the greatest value to the nation.
About (ISC)²®
(ISC)² is the largest not-for-profit membership body of certified information security professionals worldwide, with nearly 80,000 members in more than 135 countries. Globally recognized as the Gold Standard, (ISC)² issues the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®) and related concentrations, as well as the Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP®), Certified Authorization Professional (CAP®), and Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP®) credentials to qualifying candidates. (ISC)²'s certifications are among the first information technology credentials to meet the stringent requirements of ANSI/ISO/IEC Standard 17024, a global benchmark for assessing and certifying personnel. (ISC)² also offers education programs and services based on its CBK®, a compendium of information security topics. More information is available at www.isc2.org.
© 2011, (ISC)² Inc. (ISC)², CISSP, ISSAP, ISSMP, ISSEP, and CSSLP, CAP, SSCP and CBK are registered marks of (ISC)², Inc.