U.S. Cyber Challenge and SJSU to Host Cyber Security Executive Roundtable

Attendees to the invitation-only camps were selected based in part on their scores from Cyber Quests, an online competition offered through the U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC) in April that drew over a thousand participants from approximately 400 schools nationwide.

Media Contact: Kathryn Hanson Sherman Worldwide, 847-337-1818, Katie@ShermanWorldwide.com

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 6, 2012 — Keith Tresh, California director and chief information security officer, and Karen Evans, national director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, will host a roundtable discussion featuring national experts from government, technology and academia on Aug. 7 at noon at the SJSU Student Union.

The event, “2012 California Regional Cyber Security Boot Camp Executive Roundtable Discussion” will examine the critical gap in the cyber security workforce and identify opportunities for closing the gap through creative partnerships and increased focus on education.

The executive roundtable will include Dr. Ernest McDuffie, lead for the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); Sean Catlett, COO, iSight Partners (National Technology Partner); David Melnick, board director, ISC2; Craig Spohn, Safegov and executive director/president of the Cyber Innovation Center; Harry Herington, CEO, NIC Inc.; Tony Summerlin, founder & CEO, Kickstand; and Gary Warzala, chief information security 0fficer, Visa.

Less than 10 percent of the estimated necessary 30,000 skilled security professionals are in the workplace; It is clear that addressing the gap has never been greater. Through candid discussion and interaction with the audience, the roundtable will assess where skills are most needed, by whom and how best to teach them.  Questions to be examined will include: Should a minimum set of qualifications of technical skills be taught and tested in cyber security programs?  Should colleges be incentivized to transform their programming courses to make security an integral part of the teaching and grading? The roundtable will provide follow-up to the Human Capital Crisis in Cyber Security report, issued by the Center for Strategic and International Studies last fall to assess what has been accomplished and what needs to be done.

2012 U.S. Cyber Challenge Summer Camp

The event is held in conjunction with the 2012 U.S. Cyber Challenge Summer Camp, taking place at San Jose State University Aug. 6-10.  The camp is designed to provide attendees with intensive training and other opportunities to enhance their skills and become the nation’s next generation of cyber security professionals.

The camp curriculum includes in-depth workshops on a range of topics, including penetration testing, reverse engineering, and forensics, all taught by college faculty, SANS Institute senior instructors and other cyber security experts.  The week will be capped off by a virtual “capture the flag” competition and awards ceremony on Fri., Aug. 10, at the university.  ISC2 will present $1,000 scholarships to the winning capture-the-flag team.

The camp is supported in part through sponsorships with Juniper, Avue Technologies, Safegov.org and partnerships with SANS Institute, Booz Allen Hamilton, and San Jose State University.  Local sponsors include Facebook, McAfee, nCircle, Symantec, Veracode and Visa.

More than 50 individuals will be attending the San Jose State University camp and the Executive Roundtable.

Attendees to the invitation-only camps were selected based in part on their scores from Cyber Quests, an online competition offered through the U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC) in April that drew over a thousand participants from approximately 400 schools nationwide.  Cyber Camp invitations were also extended to individuals who demonstrated proficiency in other U.S. Cyber Challenge competitions, such as the Cyber Foundations, CyberPatriot, NetWars, and the DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge.

The camp participants will gain an understanding of the dimensions of the workforce shortage — and see how critical their technical skills are to the solution. They will also learn about opportunities available to them through USCC and its partners.

The 2012 Cyber Summer Camp Series features two national week-long camps and two statewide camps. The camps are part of several initiatives underway through USCC, a national campaign focused on identifying and developing cyber security talent to meet the country’s critical cyber security workforce needs.

For more information about the Cyber Camp program and each of the specific camps, visit U.S. Cyber Challenge online at www.uscyberchallenge.org.

About U.S. Cyber Challenge:

The mission of the US Cyber Challenge (USCC) is to significantly reduce the shortage in the cyber workforce by serving as the premier program to identify, attract, recruit and place the next generation of cyber security professionals.

USCC’s goal is to find 10,000 of America’s best and brightest to fill the ranks of cyber security professionals where their skills can be of the greatest value to the nation.