In response to rising cybersecurity threats in the U.S., the Linganore High School (LHS) Cyberpatriot Club was created to help educate students in the community about how to defend themselves and their employers.
The Cyberpatriot club participates in the Cyberpatriot competition which pits schools against eachother to see who can evolve their troubleshooting methods the best. Students create scripts, and improve their software dextarity repairing virtual systems. Timing and completion is key to win, students who can automate processes dominate the scene. If you have a knack for coding and system development this club is for you!
The club’s first meeting was September 19, but they are still actively recruiting new members to join their team.
The Cyberpatriot Club participates in the Cyberpatriot competition run by the United States Air Force in which they have a set amount of time to troubleshoot virtual machines (simulated, non-real computers) and get them operating at peak performance, virus free.
A team leader and computer guru is needed to achieve maximum success in the world of cyber security. Senior and club leader Nathan Bonano believes that teaching people how to eliminate cyber security threats is critical to our nation’s future.
“CyberPatriot Club is all about learning cyber security and learning how to protect yourself, in an enterprise-level environment so you can go to a business and you know how to keep your passwords and everyone else safe and you know how to protect against viruses and malware” Bonano said. “It’s really about keeping yourself safe but also protecting others who are using the same system as you.”
An advisor is essential to a Cyberpatriot club’s success in achieving this mission. Math teacher Brandon Murell took on the role to help promote independent team building among students with a diverse range of interests.
“Well, I would say that in a current digital age, we just make sure that we keep the club a learning experience and that it remains a predominantly student-driven club,” Murrell said. “Mostly, my role is to provide [an] opportunity [and] provide the space, but there is a certain amount of ownership of what gets learned that needs to be placed on the shoulders of the student.”
Overall, the Cyberpatriot club is a great opportunity for students to get into computer science with a competitive twist. The club is currently recruiting new members until further notice.
Read more here about the Cyberpatriot competition and sponsors.
Photo credit, Cyberpatriot-Wikipedia. Artist unknown.
