Champions of National Youth Cyber Defense Competition 10th Season Crowned in Baltimore


Baltimore, Md., April 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Air Force Association's (AFA) CyberPatriot program announced this week the winners of its tenth CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

Among the Open, All Service and Middle School Divisions of the competition, Team Togo from North Hollywood High School in North Hollywood, CA won the national championship in the Open Division, Team Cyber Warriors 0 from Troy High School in Fullerton, CA won the national championship in the All Service Division, and Team CyberAegis Cancer Minor from Oak Middle School in San Diego, CA won the national championship in the Middle School Division.

“The CyberPatriot X National Finals Competition event was the perfect culmination to the biggest and most challenging season in our history,” said Bernie Skoch, the CyberPatriot National Commissioner. “We watch in amazement each year as our student competitors get more proficient at the rigorous tests we put them through. We are thrilled that each season brings even greater enthusiasm and energy from these brilliant leaders of tomorrow. The partnerships we have formed with Northrop Grumman and our other benefactors are having great impact on STEM education, and we are grateful for their support.”

The full list of winning teams for CyberPatriot X is as follows:

Open Division:

National Champions: Team Togo, North Hollywood High School (North Hollywood, CA)

Runner-Up: Team Truman, North Hollywood High School (North Hollywood, CA)

Third Place: Team Troy Tech Support, Troy High School (Fullerton, CA)

All-Service Division:

National Champions: Team Cyber Warriors 0, Troy High School (Navy JROTC, Fullerton, CA)

Runner-Up: Team CADv2.0, Troy High School (Navy JROTC, Fullerton, CA)

Third Place: Team Wolfpack, Colorado Springs Cadet Squadron (Civil Air Patrol, Colorado Springs, CO)

Middle School:

National Champions: Team CyberAegis Cancer Minor, Oak Middle School (San Diego, CA)

Runner-Up: Team CyberAegis Scorpio, Oak Middle School, (San Diego, CA)

Third Place: Team CaSH Register, Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts (Fullerton, CA)

Facebook Challenge Winner:

Team Troy Tech Support, Troy High School (Fullerton, CA)

AT&T Mobile Device Component Winner:

Team Spartans, Sacramento Division Naval Sea Cadet Corps (Rancho Cordova, CA)

Open Division and Overall Cisco Networking Challenge Winner:

Team Togo, North Hollywood High School (Fullerton, CA)

All Service Division Cisco Networking Challenge Winner:

Team CADv2.0, Troy High School (Navy JROTC, Fullerton, CA)

Noah Bowe and Taylor Coffey from Civil Air Patrol Colorado Springs Cadet Squadron were recognized as Cyber All-Americans. The award is presented to competitors whose teams have earned the distinction of appearing in the National Finals Competition all four years of their high school tenure.

“The Northrop Grumman Foundation and Northrop Grumman are thrilled to have partnered with AFA for the CyberPatriot X National Finals Competition,” said Diane Miller, director, Global Cyber Education and Workforce Development Programs, Northrop Grumman.  “AFA has continued to make the competition more challenging over the past 10 seasons to reflect the evolving cyber threat and it's amazing to see how these competitors step up to the challenge. The program is having a significant impact on our nation’s youth – teaching them valuable cyber defense capabilities and professional skills such as communications, problem solving, teamwork and the importance of protecting digital information. They have a bright future ahead of them.”

Northrop Grumman awarded $52,500 to the winners of CyberPatriot X, bringing its total scholarship contribution to more than $400,000 since becoming Presenting Sponsor in 2011. Scholarships are awarded to each member of the first place ($2,000), runner-up ($1,500), and third place ($1,000) teams in the Open and All Service Divisions.

The CyberPatriot X competition began in October 2017 with 5,584 registered teams, a 26 percent increase from the previous competition year. After two months of rigorous online challenges, the Open Division and All Service Division teams were divided into three tiers: Platinum, Gold and Silver. The teams continued to compete within their tiers for state awards and advancement to the regional/category round, but only teams from the Platinum tier – the highest level – advanced to National Finals Competition.

CyberPatriot, the nation's largest and fastest growing youth cyber education program, is AFA's flagship STEM program dedicated to strengthening cyber skills among students. The program features the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition for high school and middle school students, AFA CyberCamps, an Elementary School Cyber Education Initiative, the Cyber Education Literature Series, and CyberGenerations, a program promoting senior citizen cyber awareness.

Supporters of CyberPatriot include the Northrop Grumman Foundation, CyberPatriot's presenting sponsor, as well as Cyber Diamond sponsors AT&T, Boeing, Cisco, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Microsoft; Cyber Gold sponsors Facebook, Riverside Research, Splunk, and Symantec; and Cyber Silver sponsors Air Force STEM, Air Force Reserve, American Military University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Leidos, Mastercard, and University of Maryland University College.

To learn more about CyberPatriot’s programs and initiatives, and to sign up for CyberPatriot XI, please visit www.uscyberpatriot.org.

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.



            

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