Building tomorrow’s cyberforce

This week, Northrop Grumman Corporation awarded $50,000 in scholarships to high school students on the winning teams of the CyberPatriot IX National Finals Competition.

Winners were announced during the CyberPatriot IX Awards Banquet, April 5, at the Hyatt Regency, Baltimore Inner Harbor, in Baltimore, Maryland, following an intensive daylong competition, April 4.

CyberPatriot is a global competition hosted by Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Northrop Grumman Foundation. Northrop has been the presenting sponsor of CyberPatriot, the National Youth Cyber Education program created by the Air Force Association (AFA), for seven years.

In addition to providing scholarships, Northrop Grumman devotes time, talent and resources to support this STEM initiative. CyberPatriot is part of the company’s commitment to expand and enhance the pipeline of diverse, talented STEM students globally.

“CyberPatriot remains one of the most relevant STEM competitions of our day,” said Sandra Evers-Manly, vice president, global corporate responsibility, and president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. “We couldn’t be more thrilled with its growth and the opportunity it’s given to thousands of students to pursue this critically important STEM path. The program’s focus on diversity is evident in the growing number of young women and minorities participating.” Added Evers-Manly, “We remain committed to CyberPatriot and excited about the impact it’s making on our future.”

“Congratulations to this year’s national champions; we are delighted to help these students reach their education goals," said Diane Miller, director, global cyber education and workforce development programs, Northrop Grumman. “CyberPatriot is developing the workforce pipeline needed to keep every sector of our economy safe in this new digital age. We look forward to CyberPatriot X, inspiring yet another round of excitement and another record-breaking year.”

Each first place winner was awarded $2,000, second place winners were awarded $1,500 and third place winners were awarded $1,000. This is the seventh year Northrop Grumman has provided scholarship funds, committing more than $350,000 in total scholarship funds over this period.

CyberPatriot IX National Finals featured 28 high school and middle school teams - representing the top .06percent nationwide - who participated this season in a competition to defend virtual networks and mobile devices from a professional aggressor team. The competition drew a record 4,404 teams, a 30 percent increase over last year.

For more about these cyber STEM initiatives, go to https://www.northropgrumman.com/CorporateResponsibility/Pages/CyberPatriot.aspx

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide.