CyberPatriot
CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air & Space Forces Association to inspire K-12 students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation's future.
The Flagstaff Academy CyberPatriot team is composed of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Students work in teams to defend intentionally broken virtual computers in three four-hour national competitions. They must read a scenario, determine what the simulated company needs protected, and then find and fix security vulnerabilities without accidentally breaking something that costs the team points. Students secure user accounts, strengthen passwords, remove malware and unauthorized files, configure firewalls, close vulnerable network ports, install updates, and investigate system logs to answer forensic questions. Every action affects the team's live score, so students must think carefully, troubleshoot problems, and work together under pressure.
CyberPatriot teams meet once a week after school to practice and learn specific strategies that they can apply during competition. The Flagstaff team is fortunate to have been invited to attend classes at the SVVSD Innovation Center to help hone their skills. In addition, they have hosted industry professionals to speak to the team about their experiences working in the field of cybersecurity.
