HACKERS TARGET MORAINE VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Moraine Valley Community College is about to become the arena in which the brightest technology minds in the state will test their skills. Saturday afternoon, March 1, Governor Quinn is assembling an elite group of students, veterans and job seekers from across the state to compete in The Governors Cyber Aces State Championship in Illinois. Approximately 145 participants, ranging from students to veterans and jobseekers, will display their digital know-how in a defense simulation called NetWars: the same hands-on simulation used by the U.S. military to train its officers in network warfare. This state championship is organized by Cyber Aces, a national nonprofit organization working to discover and develop talent and build pathways to critical cybersecurity jobs. As technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, the threat to our nations cybersecurity continues to grow, Governor Quinn said. Connecting our highly-skilled Veterans and students with these 21st century jobs is a solid way to increase national security and create another pathway to employment. And there is a growing need for qualified candidates. Government agencies and popular businesses are experiencing large-scale cyber attacks at an increasing rate; the Cyberskills Task Force reported an increase of 200% in 2012. Recent digital breaches include the U.S. Army, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Snapchat and Target. As former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said in her memorandum requesting the creation of the DHS Cyberskills Task Force, “Enhancing the Nations cybersecurity requires a departmental workforce with specialized knowledge and skill.” “There are too many frequent flyers and not enough fighter pilots,” said Cyber Aces Founder Alan Paller, Department of Homeland Security Task Force on Cybersecurity Co-Chair and SANS Institute Director of Research. “We need a new group of cyber defenders who can out-think and out-maneuver attackers.” The participants are the top performers in a series of online tutorials and quizzes that were completed by more than 10,000 people nationwide and 3,181 in Illinois. The championship will test them in system hardening, packet analysis, digital forensics and vulnerability assessment. Winners of state championships earn scholarships totaling $10,000 per state and invitations to intensive, accelerated industry certification programs and workforce training called Cyber Aces Academies. All participants will walk away with new information and insights on cybersecurity careers. About Cyber Aces Cyber Aces discovers talent and provides a pathway to employment in critical cybersecurity jobs. The organization challenges students, veterans and jobseekers with competitions, develops their abilities with cybersecurity education and prepares them for cybersecurity careers. It is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 06:13:25 +0000
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