Calling all middle schoolers and high schoolers! Registration now open through June 7th!

Register at:  https://calhoun.edu/cybercamps

Summer 2024 Cyber Camp Schedule

Summer 2024 Cyber Camps Information

Time: 9:00am-2:00pm each day
Location: Decatur campus, Noble Russell, https://calhoun.edu/visit/
Lunch: Provided each day
Cost: $30 non-refundable fee per participant per camp (Partial scholarship available based on financial need)
Information: Sherry Adams

CyberPatriot Standard Camp

Standard camps are designed to teach beginner students the basics of cybersecurity. No prior cybersecurity knowledge is required. Basic computer skills are required.
Sample overview of the week:

Monday	Introduction to the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, introduction to cybersecurity & careers, cyber ethics, online safety, how computers work, virtual machines, and cyber threats.
Tuesday	Cybersecurity principles, basic Windows security policies and tools, account management, windows file protections, and auditing and monitoring.
Wednesday	Introduction to Linux, Ubuntu 18 terminology and concepts, basic GUI security, and intro to CLI.
Thursday	Basic command line security and intermediate Ubuntu security.
Friday	CyberPatriot competition day. Students will compete against their fellow campers on Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18 competition images.

CyberPatriot Advanced Camp

Advanced camps are designed to teach students who have participated in the Standard camp advanced cybersecurity topics.
Sample overview of the week:

Monday	Cyber Ethics Module Windows 10 Graphical Utilities, Command Line
Tuesday	Windows 10 Command Line, Sysinternals Suite Ubuntu 18 Init Systems, Advanced Command Line
Wednesday	Ubuntu 18 Processes and Scheduled Tasks Ubuntu 18 Security Policies and PAM, Networking
Thursday	Cisco Networking
Friday	CyberPatriot competition day. Teams of students compete against each other on advanced Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18 images.

Partners & Sponsors

UAH student cyber team wins national championship

https://256today.com/uah-student-cyber-team-wins-national-championship/

Sponsor	Cyber Huntsville (venue and coffee)
Event Name	SANS Cyber Engagement
Location	655 Discovery Drive NW, Huntsville, AL 35806
Date/Start Time of Training Event	April 16th 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Cost	$0.00 (zero)
Prerequisites & Laptop Requirement	None
Classification	Unclassified
Target Audience	Cyber Community in Huntsville and Surrounding Areas

REGISTER NOW

Read about the course and instructors

GEOResilience Summit

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and GEOHuntsville will co-host the GEO Resilience Summit and Career on 3 April 2024 at the Jackson Center from 8:30 am to 2:45 pm CST.  NGA's Director, Ms. Tonya Wilkerson is the keynote speaker.  Ms. Suzanne Wilson Heckenberg, INSA President is the Moderator.  Topics discussed will include:

• How GIS Developments are Strengthening U.S. Resilience

• How GEOINT Can Map Changes in Human Health

• Geospatial Roles in Disaster Response and Climate Change

• Expanding into Outer Space

• Preparing for a Career in the Geospatial Industry

A student Career Fair will be held in conjunction with the Summit.

Register At:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/georesilience-summit-tickets-829209266237

Registration Fees

Unclassified Program - Gratis for All! (Advance registration required)

Classified Program (Secret clearance required!)

INSA BoD/AdCom/Cyber Huntsville BoD: Gratis!

INSA Members/Cyber Huntsville Members: $135

Nonmembers: $175

Gov't/Mil: Gratis!

INSA returns to Huntsville on April 17-18 for the 5th Common Threads Huntsville program, featuring both classified and unclassified sessions. Supported by Auburn University’s McCrary Institute, ClearanceJobs.com, Cyber Huntsville, GEO Huntsville, and University of Alabama in Huntsville, this year’s program focuses on Space, Defense, and Strategic Challenges. Program Highlights April 17: Welcome Reception & Keynote Join us at the Jackson Center for a GRATIS welcome reception featuring keynote remarks by Janice Glover-Jones, Director for Mission Services, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle will also deliver brief remarks. April 18: Classified (secret) Breakfast and Panel Discussion Kick off Thursday morning with a CLASSIFIED (Secret) breakfast and panel discussion on “Space and Counterspace: The Emerging Battlefield.” Confirmed Panelists: Kimberly King, Director, Missile and Space Intelligence Center, DIA Michael C. Monteleone, III, Director, Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space Cross-Functional Team, U.S. Army Futures Command Jason Gallaspy, Chief Technology Officer, Aerospace Systems, Defense Systems Sector, Leidos MG Barb Fast, USA (Ret.), President/CEO, BGF Enterprises Inc. (moderator) Additional Speakers TBD View full program details and speaker bios!

New This Year: Career Conversations Networking/Career Fair Join INSA and ClearanceJobs.com for an exciting addition to this year’s event—a GRATIS networking/career fair on Wednesday April 17, from 4:00-6:00 pm CT. Don't miss out on this terrific chance to explore potential career paths, network with industry professionals, and discover employment opportunities with leading organizations! Get details and secure your spot today!

Contact Suzanne Wilson Heckenberg at swheckenberg@insaonline.org for sponsorship details.

Cyber Huntsville is pleased to announce our 8 new board members and 8 promotions for 2024!

The Cyber Huntsville Board’s mission is to promote the advancement of cyber and technology in Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley. Cyber Huntsville is a 501c6 non-profit organization made up of industry, government, and academic institutions, whose collective technical expertise and leadership help solve local, regional, and national cyber challenges.

Executive Committee:

·        Larry Burger, Executive President – Promotion

·        Nichole O'Brien, Executive Vice President - Promotion

·        Ian Clark, Senior Vice President of Operations (Exercises/Econ Dev/Govt Affairs) – Promotion

·        Brianna Fannin, Vice President of Outreach - Promotion

·        Nisheeth Agrawal, Vice President of Education/Workforce Development

·        Marc Sachs, Vice President of Advisory Council - Promotion

·        Judy Darwin, Vice President of National Cyber Summit

·        Chris Patty, Vice President of Finance/Treasurer

·        Courtenay Marra, Secretary

Directors:

·        Shelly Amanik, Director Events (Outreach) – Lateral Move

·        Rachel Smith, Director Marketing (Outreach) – Promotion

·        Andrew Carlson, Director Membership (Outreach) – New!

·        Chance Hill, Director of Advisory Council - New!

·        James Gatewood, Director Exercises (Ops) - Promotion

·        Matt Osborne, Director Workforce Development

·        Rodney Robertson, Director Government Affairs (Ops)

·        Kris Lamb, Director Economic Development (Ops) - Promotion

·        Darren Waldrep, Director Education

Deputy Directors:

·        Forrest Carver, Deputy Exercises (Ops) – New!

·        Greg Gaddy, Deputy Workforce Development

 ·       Joe DiNoto, Deputy Government Affairs

·        Keil Oliver, Deputy Economic Development – New!

·        Stephen Pratt, Deputy National Cyber Summit – New!

·        Philomena Compton, Deputy Education

·        Jason Fickett, Deputy Advisory Council - New!

·        Sheila McFerran, Deputy Events (Outreach)

·        Andrew Blackwell, Deputy Membership (Outreach) - New!

·        Portia Waite, Deputy Marketing (Outreach) – New!

Cyber Huntsville is pleased to announce Julius “Jay” Gamble as the honored guest and keynote speaker for the Forces of Cyber Gala. This annual event will be held on February 17^th, 2024 at the Space and Rocket Center.

The Honorable Jay Gamble serves as the Regional Director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).  He currently has responsibilities over Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN) for the agency, which includes all critical infrastructure equities within the Tennessee Valley. He is CISA’s regional lead for federal cybersecurity as well as critical infrastructure security and resilience.  His leadership responsibilities include regional collaboration and partnerships to enable CISA’s layered mission intended to reduce risk to the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure. 

Please Join Us for

Black Hat, DEFCON Speaker

Max Kersten

Presenting

Wipermania

Sponsored by UAH Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education

3:00 – 5:00, October 26, 2023

UAH Chan Theater

Hors d'oeuvre Served

RSVP: ccre@uah.edu by October 17, 2023

Wipermania Abstract

In early 2022, Ukrainian companies were struck by multiple destructive wipers, attacking various companies in several sectors. This raised questions about the usage and impact of “digital weapons” within the security community, even though wipers themselves weren’t new. The infamous Shamoon wiper dates back more than a decade ago. How comes that wipers were as effective a decade ago, as they are in the present day? What has changed, and what remained the same? Based on the analysis of more than twenty recent wiper families, their trends, techniques, and overlap with other wipers will be discussed. Reusing code and techniques may link several wipers to the same actor, although the mere presence of such a link often leads to a hasty conclusion. This briefing is not the generic run-of-the-mill comparison of malware families, as it includes technical aspects of the analysed wipers, thus focusing on both the high- and low-level aspects of the destructive software.

The analysis does not only focus on the wipers used against Ukrainian victims, but also more generic wipers that were found in the wild around the same time. The parallels and differences between the targeted and generic wipers provide several interesting insights for the audience.

Throughout the conversation, there will be a focus on the analyst’s mindset, giving insight into my thoughts during the research. Including mistakes I made along the way, as well as assumptions that worked out better than I expected.

Biography

Max Kersten is a malware analyst, blogger, and speaker who aims to make malware analysis more approachable for those who are starting. In 2019, Max graduated cum laude with a bachelor's in IT & Cyber Security, during which Max also worked as an Android malware analyst. Currently, Max works as a malware analyst at Trellix, where he analyses APT malware and creates open-source tooling to aid such research. Over the past few years, Max has presented at international conferences, such as Black Hat (Arsenal) (USA, EU, MEA, Asia), DEFCON, Botconf, Confidence-Conference, HackYeahPL, and HackFestCA. Additionally, he has been a guest lecturer and has conducted workshops for several universities and private entities.

CYBERSTART AMERICA KICKS OFF THIS WEEK!

CyberStart America is a FREE national program for high school students to master cybersecurity as a gateway to the industry, up their digital skills, and compete for college scholarships through the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation. By registering for the program, U.S. high school students get free access to CyberStart, an immersive gamified learning platform.

CyberStart America is for all students, not just those in Computer Science or Cybersecurity classes.  Student complete gamified learning units at their own pace - no teacher experience needed. Take the time to check out the CyberStart game at cyberstartamerica.org. 

See below to learn more about the changes this year, opportunities for students, and why CyberStart America is important.

We had our state kick off at the National Cyber Summit this year but I have included the a video from Texas’s kick off. Their presenters walk you through the set up and how to use the new cyber.org range. I have time stamps also included so you can skip to what you need.

REGISTER TODAY at https://register.cyberstartamerica.org/

NEW THIS YEAR!

New Game Cycle

The game is opened for a shorter period of time for this year.

October 16, 2023 - Jan 24, 2024

Virtual Machine - Cyber.org Range

The biggest complaint schools has been the difficulty of using the virtual machines and many teachers were unsure about how to use them. Cyber.org has now made a VM range that will be available for FREE on their site. No need to host anything on district servers and students can access as long as they have the internet.

https://apps.cyber.org/

Groups

You can now set up groups and monitor progress of your students. Be sure to sign up as a teacher first then your students can register by joining your group.

iKeepSafe FERPA Certified!   This year CyberStart America is now certified through iKeepSafe. Student safety and privacy is important and no longer a worry when using CyberStart America. Learn more

Use CyberStart America to train for opportunities to win National Cyber Scholarships!

Students who score highly in the CyberStart America program in 2023-24 will be invited to apply for a scholarship award offered by the NCSF after the program closes in January.  See the list of opportunities below.

Find out more on the NCSF website

National Cyber Scholarship Semifinalist

All eligible high school or college students scoring at least 20,000 CyberStart points, through CyberStart America will be awarded a digital Semifinalist badge at the end of the program.

Eligibility criteria:

• High school or college student in the USA

• Registered for CyberStart America 2023-24

• Minimum point score of 20,000 in CyberStart by January 11, 2024

• Returning students from any previous program year must continue to make progress in CyberStart in the 2023-24 cycle to qualify for this award.

National Cyber Scholarship Finalist

The highest scoring CyberStart players will be invited to complete a short scholarship application by the NCSF. Anyone shortlisted for this invitation will be awarded a digital Finalist badge once their application has been validated.

Eligibility criteria:

• High school or college student in the USA

• Registered for CyberStart America 2023-24

• Minimum point score of 20,000 in CyberStart by January 11, 2024

• Qualified as a Semifinalist, and shortlisted to complete a scholarship application, which is submitted by the deadline of January 30, 2024

National Cyber Scholar

The highest-scoring eligible CyberStart players who submit their scholarship application by the January 30, 2024 deadline will be awarded a scholarship to cover the SANS Foundations course and one attempt at the GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies (GFACT) certification, worth over $3000.

Eligibility criteria:

• High school (9th-12th grade) or college student in the USA

• Registered for CyberStart America 2023-24

• Minimum point score of 20,000 in CyberStart by January 11, 2024 - applicants will be assessed as a gathered field, so only the highest scorers will receive this status

• Qualified as a Semifinalist, and shortlisted to complete a scholarship application, which is submitted by the deadline of January 30, 2024

National Cyber Scholar with Honors

Students who earn the GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies (GFACT) certification through the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF) Cyber Foundations Academy by the end of the 2024 Cyber Foundations Academy will be awarded the title “Scholar with Honors”, and may be offered the chance to apply for further scholarships to cover additional SANS training courses and certifications, and for specially selected internship opportunities.

This title can also be given to participants who have passed the GFACT certification in a previous year, and have met the conditions to be named a National Cyber Scholar again in 2024.

Eligibility criteria:

To be awarded the title of Scholar with Honors, students must:

• Complete and pass the GFACT exam by the end of the 2024 Cyber Foundations Academy, and obtain one of the highest scores within the National Cyber Scholar cohort (scores will be reviewed as a gathered field after the deadline)

• Students who are awarded the title of National Cyber Scholar in 2024, but have completed the GFACT certification prior to 2024, will also be considered for this award - they may be required to submit evidence of their GFACT exam score to support@nationalcyberscholarship.org (some scholarship awards can only be won once).

CyberStart America + Alabama Standards Matrix

Take the time to look through the crosswalk of the CyberStart America levels (HQ Base, Moon Base, and Forensics Base) and the DLCS Standards as well as standards from Cybersecurity I - III courses.

Link to Matrix

CyberStart America “How to…” Video Take a look at Texas’s kick off video that walks you through the set up and has a lot of ideas for how to use CyberStart America with your students, especially for those not a Cyber teacher or short on time! LINK TO VIDEO Time Stamps: What is CSA: 2:30 - 10:22 iKeepSafe FERPA: 10:22 - 11:29 Student Sign Up and Getting Started: 17:33 - 42:00 NEW cyber.org VM Range: 42:20 - 53:35 Classroom Ideas & resources: 54:50 - end

If you need help or have questions please visit these links. The CyberStart America team is always so helpful and quick to respond.

FAQs: https://help.cyberstartamerica.org/help

Support: support@cyberstartamerica.org

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Drake State Community & Technical College — in partnership with the Truist Foundation, Jobs for the Future, and edX — is offering two fully-funded, 24-week online boot camps to equip you with the fundamental skills you need to meet the growing demand for data analysts and cybersecurity specialists.

The application for a fully-funded award opens on August 23 and closes on September 6.

Boot Camps start on November 6, 2023.

Scholarship Opportunities:

Drake State Start a Cybersecurity or Data Science Career _ with Drake State (1).pdf

For a successful launch, they are asking for the support of our local community professionals. You can contribute in three simple ways:

1. Review student applications

2. Become a mentor

3. Become an employee partner

Please consider supporting today!

Drake State_edX Employer Partnership (1) (1) (1).pdf