1 Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot The National High School Cyber Defense Competition AFA Chapter Outreach Briefing

2 America: A Cyber Nation U.S. critically dependent on cyber systems for industry, commerce, public safety, national defense

3 Requirement: A Cyber Workforce National cyber security can’t exist without strong, indigenous cyber workforce We aren’t graduating enough STEM scientists, technical grads, engineers, math majors, cyber experts We must motivate high-school youth to pursue STEM paths When compared to other nations, the math and science achievement of U.S. pupils and the rate of STEM degree attainment appear inconsistent with a nation considered the world leader in scientific innovation. In a recent international assessment of 15-year-old students, the U.S. ranked 28th in math literacy and 24th in science literacy. Moreover, the U.S. ranks 20th among all nations in the proportion of 24-year-olds who earn degrees in natural science or engineering Congressional Research Study “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: Background, Federal Policy, and Legislative Action”

4 What doesn’t work… What does… Academic instruction is important, but students aren’t particularly inspired by more class time, more lectures Multi-media instruction is a good tool, but they see plenty of that What excites, motivates: A well-organized, well-structured, competition

5 CyberPatriot Is… 1. The national high school cyber defense competition. 2. Carefully structured to excite, educate, and motivate participants. 3. Designed to instill in all participants the importance to our nation of cyber, cyber security, and good computer security practices. 4. Designed to motivate all participants to consider STEM academic disciplines to meet our nation’s needs. 5. Designed to motivate many participants to become the next generation of cyber defenders and our nation’s “digital workforce.” “We will begin a national campaign to promote cyber security awareness and digital literacy from our boardrooms to our classrooms, and to build a digital workforce for the 21st century.” President Obama, May 2009

6 CyberPatriot Is Not… 1. “Hacker training” We don’t teach “hacking” tools or techniques, and “hacking” in competition is strictly forbidden. 2. A recruiting tool for the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the Federal government This is about building a strong national foundation for cyber skills throughout our high schools. 3. Boring academic instruction CyberPatriot is designed with extremely high fun and excitement quotients.

7 Crawl … Walk … Crawl … Walk … Phase I: Feb 2009 Concept Demonstration (Orlando, Florida) Eight teams (7 AFJROTC/1 CAP), all from Florida Phase II: Apr 2009 – Feb 2010 Pilot Deployment 200+ teams (AFJROTC/CAP) – 42 States & Japan Only

8 Run! Full-scale national deployment Open to all high schools Two Divisions: Open Division (Any bona fide educational institution, including home-schools) All Service (CAP, JROTC (all Services)) States with registered CP-III Teams as of July, Registration for CP-III open until October 8, During the academic year, for the first time any high school in the nation may participate in CyberPatriot. Open to all high schools

9 Value to Students Introduces students to cybersecurity, a topic that: Uniquely resonates with the digital natives they are Shows them how they can protect themselves in cyberspace Offers exciting/lucrative careers (even right out of high school) Boasts an increasing pool of government funded scholarships Provides a practical, hands-on learning experience Identifies talent – we’ve seen moderate achievers “blossom” Rewards technical academic achievement – “geeks” can be cool!

10 Value to Each High School Provides a fun, competitive, non-traditional teaching paradigm for STEM skills All instructional materials and competition presented at a level at which even average students can be successful Cyber defense competition is “cool,” fun, and rewarding for many students not usually motivated by challenging STEM subjects All rounds of competition teach teamwork—something useful to every student Low cost of participation ($350) significantly offset by free software to schools and to each student, as well as other gratuities

11 CyberPatriot’s Reach Headcount is not solely about team registrants or participants Impact: Exposure through initial orientations, discussions extend to tens of thousands of students Behind every competitor stand dozens of students who learn about why cyber security is vital to every state of our nation.

12 Preliminary Phases Conducted Via Internet Competition Structure Whole-class academics Entry assessment Game & Laboratory Qualification competition Preliminary Rounds Medalist Round Competitions Conducted on Site Air Warfare Symposium (All Service Qualifier), Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, FL, 18 February 2011) CyberFutures Conference, Gaylord National Convention Center, National Harbor, MD, 1-2 April 2011)

13 Competition Timeline 12 Teams 1-2 Apr Open Division (all High Schools) 500 Teams 125 Teams 11 Dec 36 Teams 8 Jan 500 Teams 13 Nov All Service Division (JROTC/CAP) 5 Teams 1-2 Apr 500 Teams 12 Teams 18 Feb 500 Teams 23 Oct 125 Teams 6 Nov 36 Teams 4 Dec Air Warfare Symposium CyberFutures Conference CyberFutures Conference Today Registration Practice Sessions On-line competitionIn-person competition MayJunJulAug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb MarApr

14 How does it work? CyberPatriot (a Coach [teacher]-centric process): 1) Two-step process: Coach “verified,” then granted access 2) Coach creates “team” & verifies students 3) “Protected space” for coach/student/other team interaction within Competitor Relationship Management (CRM) system 4) Microsoft software through Coach 5) Mentors selected by Coach If you have any questions, please

15 What do I need? Hardware: 1 Ghz (Intel preferred) processor 2 GB RAM 20 GB of free disk space Keyboard & Mouse Network connection (DSL or better) 1024x768 or higher display (Optional) It is recommended to use a projector or large display to share the screen output with the rest of the team, but not required. Software: Operating System (Windows 2000 or newer, recent VMware supported Linux, or Macintosh or later) Web Browser ZIP client capable of handling encrypted ZIP files (7-Zip preferred) VMware Player (for Windows or Linux) or VMware Fusion (for Macintosh) Minimum Requirements: For later Qualification Rounds with multiple (up to 3) VMs, a separate system for each VM is desired

16 What do I get for the $350? License for Microsoft Academic Alliance Developer software ($499 value to each coach and team member) Access to training materials on highschoolcdc.com site Access to CRM with exclusive information on cybersecurity, scholarships, internships, career opportunities Participant kits (coins, shirts, certificates – $150-$200 cost) All travel, lodging, food expense to the in-person events NOTE: Fee is waived for CAP/JROTC ONLY where their parent HQs has agreed to fund travel costs

17 A Cyber Workforce Catalyst CyberPatriot is designed to: 1) Be accessible to every HS student; 2) Initiate a seamless path from HS, through college, to the workforce; 3) Benefit every CyberPatriot stakeholder and every state in our nation.

18 Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot III National High School Cyber Defense Competition Presenting Sponsor

19 The Greatest Need