Imagine that you’re a newly hired IT administrator that has been asked to find and fix system vulnerabilities, remove malware and perform system forensics, all within a tight timeframe, while making sure critical systems remain operational in the process.
Sounds tough for sure. While this situation is strictly a simulated scenario, for a group of local Civil Air Patrol cadets participating in CyberPatriot, the stakes are still high!
According to the Civil Air Patrol, 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.
At the core of the program is the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, the world’s largest cyber defense competition that puts high school and middle school students in charge of securing virtual networks.
The student teams act as IT professionals tasked with finding and fixing security vulnerabilities in virtual operating systems while maintaining critical services.
The local cadet team consists of Cadet Staff Sergeant Abigail Hudson, Cadet Airman Andrew Morton, Cadet Master Sergeant Lukas Yarman and Cadet Staff Sergeant Seth Yarman.
Civil Air Patrol senior member John Yarman, the cadet team technical mentor, explained how the competition works.
“(Competitors are)presented with a larger story type simulated problem where they must act in the role of an IT professional to secure organizational assets. Beyond just learning technical skills needed to accomplish the required goals, they must gain the ability to break a larger problem down into more manageable pieces, than work each item to resolution,” he said.
“Programs like CyberPatriot provide great opportunities for the cadets to learn and grow personally, while possibly finding a field that they might have a passion for.”
The national cyber competition for middle and high school students is broken down into a series of rounds, with each round lasting between 4-6 hours. Currently, practice rounds are being held with the official qualification rounds beginning Oct. 22 and lasting through November.
Depending on results, teams will then move onto the state rounds in December, semifinals in January and the finals in the spring of 2027, in Washington, D.C. The top three team placements receive scholarships and awards from competition sponsors, which include Northrup-Grumman, Cisco Systems and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The Capt. Peter Chapman II Composite Squadron meets every Monday evening at 6 p.m. at the Knox County Airport terminal building. The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program is open to youth ages 12 to 18.
The program focuses on Leadership, Aerospace Education, Physical Fitness and Character Development. For more information on the Cadet Program or adult volunteer opportunities, please contact Capt. John Morgan, CAP, at 740-263-1664.
