Posted on May 5, 2020 by Wendy Frost
The UTSA College of Business partnered with the CyberTexas Foundation to provide free training to San Antonio high school students who were competing in the CyberPatriot National Finals in the college’s newly-launched Cyber Range.
Three teams comprised of 15 students from Brandeis and Roosevelt high schools participated in two online simulations conducted by the UTSA Cyber Range at the end of April. And, one of the teams from Roosevelt High School was named national champion of the All Services Division in the May 2 competition.
“The UTSA Cyber Range gave us an amazing opportunity to practice our cyber defense skills in a realistic, simulated hostile environment while working as a team to detect certain attack paths,” said Julian Peña, captain of the Roosevelt High School team. “Personally, I have never experienced such an in-depth training environment. Having the opportunity to train with the UTSA Cyber Range has overall been a great learning opportunity for both me and my team.”
Cyber Range facilitators prepared a virtual experience based upon current industry-based tools found in a Security Operations Center so that students could sharpen their skills for the national competition.
“It was a pleasure working with this wonderful group of kids,” said Joe Mallen, director of the UTSA Cyber Range. “I was truly impressed with their level of expertise around cybersecurity, and how they were able to work together as a team.”
“As a retired Air Force officer with service at USCYBERCOM and Air Force Cyber, the skills I witnessed by these high school students on the UTSA Cyber Range are just the kind of experiences that we need to help us defend the nation moving forward in the private sector and in government organizations,” said Vic Malloy, general manager of the CyberTexas Foundation.
The UTSA Cyber Range, which was created in partnership with Cyber Range Solutions Inc. (CRS), utilizes Cyberbit technology, which is the most widely-deployed cybersecurity training and simulation platform.
A cyber range is a hands-on training facility where individuals and teams receive training on how to respond to and defend real-world cybersecurity attacks in a simulated, virtual environment. The UTSA Cyber Range offers an online training program for the general public as well as business and governmental organizations.
–Learn more about the CyberTexas Foundation.
— Wendy Frost
