Cyber Patriots gear up for state competition

The Cheney High Cyber Patriots Club continues to build on their success from last year.

The club recently completed the second qualification round of competition on Dec. 5 where one team finished 72nd in the nation and another took 143rd that qualified them for the Platinum Division, the first time any team has done so in the club’s history. The other two teams, which are both comprised of first-year club members, finished 717th and 743rd and earned Gold Division status.

All four teams will compete in the state rounds, Jan. 30. The top teams from each state will advance to the regional competition in February.

According to its website, The Cyber Patriot program was created by the Air Force Association (AFA) to inspire high school students toward careers in c​ybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, which is one of the Cyber Patriots’ main programs, is in its eighth year with over 1,300 teams from the United States and Canada participating in the program.

During the competition, teams are given a set of virtual images that represent operating systems. Teams earn points by finding vulnerabilities within the images and securing the system while maintaining services in a six-hour period. Groups will go to a room and start work at around 8 a.m. and finish at about 3 p.m.

“We usually get 90 percent of the work done in the first hour and the remaining 10 percent is what we’ll do for the next five hours,” Matthew Duplar, Cheney Cyber Patriots club member said. “It’s like finding a needle in a haystack and you don’t get a lot of feedback if you’re doing something right.”

To prepare for the competition, Duplar said the teams practice simulations every Wednesday. A representative from Cisco Systems Inc. spoke with the club about the image they are going to be working with at the state competition.

Cheney’s Cyber Patriots club is in its fourth year and currently has 26 members and four teams, which is double from last year, according to Adam Smith, the club’s adviser. Smith said the 2015-16 school year marks the group’s first full year as an official club.

“We looked at the success the club has had in the last couple of years and students asked why they couldn’t be recognized like other Cheney High clubs,” Smith said. “We went to ASB (Associated Student Body) and got approved last December. We’re doing a lot more now than what we were able to do in the past.”

Duplar said the club’s success has led other students to join while Smith added the club’s make up is also comprised of students who are looking from intellectual challenges

“Members come in all shapes and sizes,” Smith said.

Smith noted the team currently has four girls, though he would like to see more join the club.

One of the benefits of the club, according to Matthew Duplar, is students get a chance to work on something that is “relevant to real life” but also fun.

“Even if we don’t do it (pursue cybersecurity) for a career, we are still protecting ourselves,” Duplar said.

CHENEY CYBER PATRIOTS TEAMS

Team 1 (72nd place): Kyle Seawright, Joe Riddle, Matt Dupler, Jasmine McCauley, Caleb Williamson and John Magill.

Team 2 (143rd): Noah Brown, Colton Dotson, Andrew Jenkins, Jake McGillicuddy, Sydney Zapf and Jacob Tart.

Team 3 (717th): Mitch Lawrence, Abby Dotson, Tommy Christianson, Caleb Wilcox, Liam Hewey, Alec Sellers and Connor Scholten.

Team 4 (743rd): Jason Chilcoat, Daniel Storment, Megan Carroll, David Yevdash, Eric Sinyakov, Julian Booker and Jack Zuelke.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.