Three juniors make ‘gold state round’ in CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense competition.
Notre Dame juniors Alex Kocheril, Haley Williams and Luke Zerona have attained the “Gold State Round” in this year’s edition of the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.
Sponsored by the Air Force Association, which is based in Arlington, Va., the competition features teams from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Department of Defense schools in Europe and the Pacific, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Hungary.
Notre Dame juniors, from left, Alex Kocheril, Haley Williams and Luke Zerona are participating in the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.
The competition puts teams of high school students in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company. In the rounds of competition, teams are given a set of virtual images that represent operating systems and are tasked with finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within the images and hardening the system while maintaining critical services.
“We needed at least 420.1 to get into the Platinum State Round, but we are pleased overall with how we are doing in our first year,” Konja said. “They listed the states during this round and Michigan has 46 teams participating. So we are the 15th best in the state and only four teams from Michigan placed in Platinum.”
Diane Miller, director of the Global Cyber Education and Workforce Development Programs with the National Youth Cyber Education Program, said she is thrilled with CyberPatriot's growth and the impact it's making on addressing the global demand for cyber professionals.
"Not only are teams returning, but we're seeing teams from new regions join in,” she said. “The program's focus on diversity means we're inspiring youth from every corner of society, thus widening our talent pool and creating a robust pipeline, critical to our future defense."
Konja is hoping to grow the program each year.
“Walsh College is sponsoring our team this year and I have two technical trainers working with the students,” he said. “One works for Cisco and the other is a local cyber security expert. So now we are heading to the state round and if we place, we could go to regionals! The kids are learning and having fun at the same time, and the competition is hands-on and interactive.”
More on CyberPatriot and the Air Force Association:
CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air Force Association to inspire high school, middle school and elementary school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation's future and to help students be safe on line. In addition to the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, the program features AFA CyberCamps and AFA's Elementary School Cyber Education Initiative.
CyberPatriot, the nation's largest and fastest growing youth cyber education program, is AFA's flagship STEM program dedicated to strengthening cyber skills among American youth. Students in the program also gain valuable knowledge from the expertise of CyberPatriot's many supporters, including the Northrop Grumman Foundation, CyberPatriot's presenting sponsor. Other program sponsors include Cyber Diamond sponsors AT&T Federal and the AT&T Foundation, Cisco, Microsoft, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Cyber Gold sponsors Facebook, Riverside Research, Splunk, and Symantec; and Cyber Silver sponsors Air Force Reserve, American Military University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Leidos, and University of Maryland University College.
The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Its 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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