CyberPatriot

Welcome to Falcon High School's CyberPatriot Page!

What is CyberPatriot? Well…start by looking at these documents:

Videos

2014 - 2015: Another Year and We Keep Getting Better!

This past your we underwent enormous changes with CyberPatriot. First, we had the largest number of people participate, 40 members. Additionally, we had our first all female team. Judging by the numbers, we have the highest participation and the most female members in Colorado. The competition itself has underwent many changes. Cisco Networking is becoming a much larger part of the competition and the images are becoming much more difficult than they were in the past. But that is a good thing. We had a very busy year; We took 5 members of our team to Vail to compete in FBLA events such as Cyber Security and Spreadsheet Applications, We had a great visit to the Progressive Insurance Data Center and we also participated in the very first Stellar Explorers Competition at the Space Center. On top of that, we had three winners of the prestigious NCWIT Award (See Below). I'm going to miss Brandon, Mia, Dale, Beth, Natalie, Cora, Heinkel, and Trenton - But I know some of you guys will be returning to mentor.

NCWIT Aspirations In Computing Awards Goes to Three CyberPatriots

Falcon High School has three recipients of the prestigious NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Awards.

The three CyberPatriot members, Cora Gottbehuet, Chloe Liwanag and Kiana Harkema, picked up their award on April 26 at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women who are active and interested in computing and technology, and encourages them to pursue their passions. All three members have been participating in CyberPatriot competition for at least two years. Cora, the senior is on her way to collage to major in Business, While Chloe, 11th grade and Kiana, 10th grade, will continue participating in CyberPatriot and learning new skills along the way.

Last year Falcon High school had 10 female competitors and for the first time fielded an all female team that competed at the top level.

The students will use their award to help promote the benefits of CyberPatriot and try to recruit many other females interested in the field of Cyber Security.

A New Challenge: 2014-15

Falcon High School underwent growing pains during 2014-15. Membership ballooned to 40 students, putting a strain on time and resources. It was a challenge for me to spread myself out and give attention to all of those students that needed it. We has to expand our meeting times to two (sometimes three) days a week. Another challenge was to find partners and mentors to help handle the influx of students, But everyone stepped-up to the challenge and performed admirably through it all. We have the best CyberPatriot program in the state and we have more females participating than any other program. Good work guys!

More Videos

A Very Successful Year! 2013-14

Falcon High School's CyberPatriot Program is growing in both size and skill. In only its second year of competition, Falcon has placed two teams in the National Semifinals. Falcon's two teams are part of 50 semifinalist teams left in the competition. The scores of the previous two rounds were added together to determine the semifinalist. Over 900 teams across America competed this year. Falcon High School placed 1st in the state in competition, third in the Southwest Regionals and 17th in the nation. The number of students participating as well as the number of female students has tripled from last year. CyberPatriot is the premiere national high school defense competition that gives hands on exposure to the foundations of Cyber Security. After the semifinals are completed, the top 12 teams will head to Washington D.C. to compete in the finals in March.

CyberPatriot members talk about the benefits of studying Cyber Security

"Dust In the Wind"

What are we if not Dust in the Wind. I don't expect anyone but my students to know what that statement means, but I can say that all of my students know. What a great year! Falcon High School's CyberPatriot Team really worked hard this year and in the process they reaped the rewards that comes from hard work and dedication. This heart we reached several milestones:

For the first time we received 100% on an image
For the first time we reached the National Semifinals
For the first time we won the state championship
For the first time we ranked in the top 20 in the nation (17)
For the first time we competed in the Southwest Regionals and placed 3rd

All of this is great of course but when you consider this is only our second year of competition!

CyberPatriots 2013-2014

Top Team in the state!

2013-14 CyberPatriot Team

Hannah Williams - NCWIT Award

Hannah Williams was recently awarded runner-up award for the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) in an award ceremony held at University of Colorado, Boulder. The NCWIT Award honors young women at the high school level for their computing related achievements. Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post secondary education. Awardees also have opportunities for internships, scholarships, research experience and other educational and employment opportunities.
Hannah was granted an academic achievement award from Falcon High School’s IT Academy for her academic achievements in Intro and Advanced Computing as well as Digital Security. Hannah was a vital part of Falcon's successful all-female CyberPatriot Team. She’s active in sports, being in the number 1 singles position in tennis. Hannah has a 3.9 GPA average and is taking several AP courses. Her future plans include attending George Mason University where she will apply her knowledge of information security and CyberPatriot techniques she learned in Falcon HIgh School, to major in computer science. Hannah has moved to Washington D.C. this year and our CyberPatriot Team will miss her.

Training Resources

It's all about practice and training. The best minds in cyber and information security will not be successful if they don't train in their craft and follow it up with constant practice. That's how you'll become very proficient in cyber security (and just about anything else). Go through every single resource listed here on the left, and you will put yourself in a position to be a top CyberPatriot competitor. I promise. However, this is not a one and done deal; some of these modules you'll have to go through several times before you get a good handle on it! And all of it has to be followed up by....You guessed it, PRACTICE.

Mr. Russell

CyberPatriots 2012-2013

Looking Into The Future

The CyberPatriot program here at Falcon High School is growing. Next semester, I will be teaching an information security class with an emphasis on cyber security. This will ensure that we'll be extra prepared for next fall's cyber competition and will give us a solid foundation for reaching our goal of becoming the best school in Colorado for cyber security. With some of the best and brightest students known to man, I know we'll accomplish that goal!

Mr. Russell

Make a List, Check it Twice (or three, four, times)

Team - you guys are doing a terrific job!
But now is the time to learn how to work smarter. Up until this point you've been using common sense mixed with a little experience in order to find the vulnerabilities in the OS images. But there's a method to the madness. When troubleshooting you have to plan. Planing saves time. This is extremely important during competition. One of the ways to work smart is to make and use a checklist. A checklist will not only save you time, but it will also help to organize your troubleshooting. This will prevent you from going over previously checked vulnerability areas. It compartmentalizes the troubleshooting process and makes a huge undertaking manageable. You can start by click on: CyberPatriot Categorized Checklist. This list was made up by your classmates Beau, Heinkel, and Chloe and it is based on the trouble shooting they experienced last year.

Remember - this is a place to start. You should make your own personalized list. But you should NEVER troubleshoot without one. I'm going to be check on you this week and I need to see every one used a checklist. Don't get caught without it!

Mr. Russell

Resources

Team - I want everyone to read and become familiar with the rules for competition. Click on this PowerPoint from last coaches meeting: Meeting PowerPoint

Assignment

Team - Don't forget the assignment I gave you. What? You Don't remember? Well, the Categorized Checklist I gave you. If you forgot about it, click on the link in the column on the left. You are to take this list and use it as a guideline to make your own checklist. You'll be troubleshooting vulnerabilities this week and by Friday, I want to see this list. Yes, you will be graded on it!

NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing Award for technical high school young women!

Attention CyberPatriot Females,

Great news! CyberPatriot and the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing are teaming up in an effort to increase participation among young women in technology.

Aspirations in Computing is a talent development initiative designed to increase female participation in technology careers by providing encouragement, visibility, community, leadership opportunities, scholarships, and internships to aspiring technically inclined young women. Since 2007, NCWIT has inducted more than 2,200 young women into the Aspirations in Computing community and is helping to usher these women into technology careers.

Your participation in the cyber defense competition you an exceptional candidate for the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing.

Resources

Note: to hear Hannah speak, go to 12:03 of the video.

Hannah and her family at the award ceremony in CU Boulder

Latest News On CyberPatriot! 2013

Falcon High School Ranks Third in the State for CyberPatriot competition

It's now official; Falcon High School is one of the strongest schools in Colorado for CyberPatriot competition. We came in tied for third with Vista Ridge High School. Littleton High School came in first place and Vista Ridge's other team took second. This is great in only our first year of competing. Initially, we signed up last year but due to lack of resources, we didn't compete. But this year, our guys really turned it on! Thanks to all team members for their hard work and dedication. All of us will work extra hard next year to take first place and qualify for the national championship competition in Washington D.C.

Resources for CyberPatriot

Team - go to the following website: http://cyfor.isis.poly.edu/
There you will find a ton of resources that will help you get ahead of the game for CyberPatriot competition.
Go to the dropdown Modules and then go to "view modules": Start on the Module Lesson: OS Forensics. The five Modules you are to complete are:

Intro to OS layout
Intro to Windows Forensics
Windows Registry Part 1
Windows Registry Part 2
Windows Registry Part 3

Complete all of these modules!

Vulnerability Categories

Unnecessary Services and Applications
Malware/Prohibited Software
Account/Local Security Policies
Overall Security
OS Patching

Round 3.5 Category Numbers

Unnecessary Services and Applications 10
Malware/Prohibited Software 11
Account/Local Security Policies 20
Overall Security 3
OS Patching 4

Look Deeper

Take a look at the two columns on the left. The numbers come out just as we suspected; most of the vulnerabilities come out as we expected. Accounts are very big! This means that we have to really concentrate on Accounts. We need experts in each category. Which one(s) will you be an expert in?

Team Falcon OS Performs Exceptionally Well During First Round Competition and Prepares for Round 2

Falcon High School's CyberPatriot Team (Team Falcon OS) Competed against hundreds of other high schools across the country in the annual cyber security competition created by the Air Force Association. The team found 9 out of 10 vulnerabilities on a Windows 7 virtual operating system. The team is currently preparing for round 2 where they will most likely work on a Linux operating system on December 8, 2012. The top 12 schools will compete in the National Competition to determine the top cyber defense team in the country. The teams feels confident they'll be one of the top teams and look forward to traveling to Washington D.C. to compete.

CyberPatriot - What is it?

CyberPatriot is the premire national high school cyber defense competition that is designed to give hands on exposure to the foundations of cyber security. CyberPatriot is not a hacking competition. CyberPatiot's goal is to excite students about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.
Falcon High School will compete in the CyberPatriot compitition this year. For more information please click on this link: CYBERPATRIOT

PowerPoint Training Slides

1. Intro to IT Security
2. VM Ware
3. Windows Security
4. Threats and Vulnerabilities
5. How to Mitigate
6. Networking
7. Unix Security
8. Password Security

More Resources

1. Intro to Computer Security & Info Sevices

Important Links

Resources

Team: The only way we'll improve our information security posture is to continue to research, practice and learn how to use the tools that will save us time and effort. For this, we'll need a central location for our resources. This page is not all inclusive, but it's really a great place to start! Click on: Windows Tools