Arlington, Va., July 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Air Force Association (AFA) announced today that its CyberPatriot program has been selected as CISSE’s Industry Leadership of the Year.
“We are delighted to be recognized by CISSE. But we accept this honor with the full acknowledgement that it is truly a recognition of the tremendous work of the thousands of CyberPatriot coaches, mentors, and participants in this great program,” said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot National Commissioner. “It is them, along with our generous sponsors and volunteers from AFA and communities around the nation, who have built CyberPatriot into the successful program it has become.”
CyberPatriot was awarded for being a “significant national program designed to boost cybersecurity awareness in K-12 education, as well as train and encourage high school and middle school students to consider cybersecurity careers” according to the official CISSE citation.
“While many organizations focus on the cybersecurity needs of the present, the Air Force Association looks to build the future cyber professional corps,” said Dr. Vic Maconachy, Chairman of the CISSE Colloquium Board. “They are truly preparing the next generation of cyber solution providers.”
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, 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. Learn more about CISSE at www.cisse.info.
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.