The Carrollton High School CyberPatriot team is headed to the national competition Jan. 19. The competition will be held virtually at CHS.

CyberPatriot is an education program created by the Air and Space Force’s Association to inspire K-12 students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to the nation’s future. At the core of the program is the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, the nation’s largest cyber defense competition that puts high school students in charge of securing virtual networks. 

Coach Robby Blakemore said CyberPatriot is a great way for students to learn about cybersecurity.

“Students have been preparing for the competition by learning common IT tasks related to cyber security including security settings, system updates, defensive countermeasures, local policies and system auditing,” said Blakemore. “With more than 700,000 job postings for open cybersecurity positions in the United States, it’s a great time to learn about a booming industry!”

The team is made up of CHS Computer Science and JROTC students. 

The JROTC students advanced to nationals by securing first place in the Gold Tier for the Air Force JROTCs in Georgia. Simultaneously, the civilian team showcased their excellence by winning the Silver Tier in Georgia, securing a well-deserved place at the national level. 

What does the CyberPatriot match look like? Blakemore says it’s four hours of tough competition.

“The competition challenges students to find and fix cybersecurity vulnerabilities in virtual operating systems like Windows and Linux,” he said. “Teams are scored on how secure they make the system. Top teams advance through the online round of competition, and the best of the best advance to the National Finals Competition.”

During the competition period, each team faces three challenges:

• Network Security Challenge: This challenge involves identifying and rectifying security vulnerabilities in Windows and Linux operating systems.
• Cisco Networking Challenge: This challenge consists of an online quiz and a virtual networking exercise based on specific training materials.
• Cisco Packet Tracer: This portion of the match utilizes simulation software to replicate real-life scenarios, requiring students to build or repair parts of a network system.

Computer science students competing are Omar DeJesus, Kewin Dong, Joseph Ivey, and Simranjeet Kaur. JROTC students competing are Tylde Alexander, Austin Ennis, Kenia Galves-Hernandez, and Venkata Koppireddy. 

(photo) Carrollton High School computer science students practice for the CyberPatriot national competition which will be held Jan. 19. Pictured from left are Joseph Ivey, Omar DeJesus, Kewin Dong, and Simranjeet Kaur.