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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