NEWS: Mt. Vernon squadron ‘flies’ through cyberspace
November 12, 2009
FORT BELVOIR, Va. — A team of five cadets from Civil Air Patrol’s Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron helped make history Saturday by competing in CyberPatriot II, a nationwide high school cyber defense competition sponsored by the Air Force Association.
The team includes: Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Alexander Fry, 16, homeschooled; Cadet Master Sgt. Christopher Fry, 14, homeschooled; Cadet Tech. Sgt. Hunter Garth, 15, Hayfield Secondary School; Cadet Tech. Sgt. Brandon Julig, 14, Robinson Secondary School; and Cadet Airman 1st Class Christopher Rouleau, 15, West Springfield High School.
“This was a great experience for these cadets,” said Squadron Commander Capt. Cathy Collom. “And the squadron is proud of their good work.”
CyberPatriot is a cyber defense competition that tests the ability of the students to defend a simulated corporate network from external hostile attacks. But it is far more than just a competition. It is designed to educate and motivate cadets to become the cyber defenders the nation needs while promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Likely the largest live high school cyber defense event ever staged, CyberPatriot II includes nearly 200 high school Air Force Junior ROTC and Civil Air Patrol teams from 42 states and Japan in simultaneous competition. In a race against both the clock and their opponents, competitors had six hours to find and correct vulnerabilities in a virtual network made possible by SAIC — Science Applications International Corporation. Teams were tracked according to success and speed.
“Congratulations to all the competitors and continued good luck to all the teams over the next two Saturdays of competition,” said S. Sanford Schlitt, AFA vice chairman of the board for aerospace education. “CyberPatriot II is proving to be a fantastic hands-on learning experience. It’s a great way to encourage new interest in this crucial career path.”
Six of the top teams are from Civil Air Patrol squadrons around the country.
Next up Nov. 14, most of the original teams, minus the top 21, will compete again simultaneously in a special consolation round against a new set of cyber defense problems — including CAP’s Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron. The top 15 teams will join the Nov. 21 Medalist Flight for 36 teams in total.
On Nov. 21, those 36 Medalist Flight teams will take on a much more complex virtual network and an entirely new set of vulnerabilities, with eight teams moving on to the coveted Championship Round, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Orlando.
The Championship Round will be Feb. 19 in conjunction with AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. There, they compete in the most complicated series of live challenges yet, against a “Red Team” opponent that will actively counter their defense strategies.
Civil Air Patrol’s National Capital Wing currently has 222 volunteer officers and senior members and 123 cadets in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Federal employees and military personnel can support CAP through the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area – CFC charity number 26757. For more information, go to www.NatCapWing.org.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 56,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the Air Force with saving 91 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 67 years.
By Capt. Howard Hall
Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron public affairs office
The team includes: Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Alexander Fry, 16, homeschooled; Cadet Master Sgt. Christopher Fry, 14, homeschooled; Cadet Tech. Sgt. Hunter Garth, 15, Hayfield Secondary School; Cadet Tech. Sgt. Brandon Julig, 14, Robinson Secondary School; and Cadet Airman 1st Class Christopher Rouleau, 15, West Springfield High School.
“This was a great experience for these cadets,” said Squadron Commander Capt. Cathy Collom. “And the squadron is proud of their good work.”
CyberPatriot is a cyber defense competition that tests the ability of the students to defend a simulated corporate network from external hostile attacks. But it is far more than just a competition. It is designed to educate and motivate cadets to become the cyber defenders the nation needs while promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Likely the largest live high school cyber defense event ever staged, CyberPatriot II includes nearly 200 high school Air Force Junior ROTC and Civil Air Patrol teams from 42 states and Japan in simultaneous competition. In a race against both the clock and their opponents, competitors had six hours to find and correct vulnerabilities in a virtual network made possible by SAIC — Science Applications International Corporation. Teams were tracked according to success and speed.
“Congratulations to all the competitors and continued good luck to all the teams over the next two Saturdays of competition,” said S. Sanford Schlitt, AFA vice chairman of the board for aerospace education. “CyberPatriot II is proving to be a fantastic hands-on learning experience. It’s a great way to encourage new interest in this crucial career path.”
Six of the top teams are from Civil Air Patrol squadrons around the country.
Next up Nov. 14, most of the original teams, minus the top 21, will compete again simultaneously in a special consolation round against a new set of cyber defense problems — including CAP’s Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron. The top 15 teams will join the Nov. 21 Medalist Flight for 36 teams in total.
On Nov. 21, those 36 Medalist Flight teams will take on a much more complex virtual network and an entirely new set of vulnerabilities, with eight teams moving on to the coveted Championship Round, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Orlando.
The Championship Round will be Feb. 19 in conjunction with AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. There, they compete in the most complicated series of live challenges yet, against a “Red Team” opponent that will actively counter their defense strategies.
Civil Air Patrol’s National Capital Wing currently has 222 volunteer officers and senior members and 123 cadets in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Federal employees and military personnel can support CAP through the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area – CFC charity number 26757. For more information, go to www.NatCapWing.org.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 56,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the Air Force with saving 91 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 67 years.
By Capt. Howard Hall
Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron public affairs office