CyberPatriot: Exploring University-High School Partnerships

Abstract

Since its inception in 2008, the CyberPatriot competition has been held annually with the goal of increasing the number of technologically skilled individuals working in the field of cybersecurity. The competition is designed to address the shortage of U.S. citizens with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines by encouraging talented high school students to pursue post-secondary study leading to careers in cybersecurity. This paper describes how one university successfully partnered with a large metropolitan high school district to better reach out to talented students in both traditional and underrepresented groups. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Headnote

ABSTRACT

Since its inception in 2008, the CyberPatriot competition has been held annually with the goal of increasing the number of technologically skilled individuals working in the field of cybersecurity. The competition is designed to address the shortage of U.S. citizens with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines by encouraging talented high school students to pursue post-secondary study leading to careers in cybersecurity. This paper describes how one university successfully partnered with a large metropolitan high school district to better reach out to talented students in both traditional and underrepresented groups.

Keywords: IT skills, CyberPatriot, cyber security, national security

INTRODUCTION

President Obama has said that "America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity" (The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 2009). According to a Report of the CSIS Commission Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, "For at least the past six years the U.S. Department of Defense, nuclear laboratory sites and other sensitive U.S. civilian government sites have been deeply penetrated, multiple times, by other nation-states" (Evans & Reeder, 2010, p. v). The dependence on computer systems and the need for secure computer systems compels government, private industry, and academia to determine how they are going to hire personnel, train existing personnel while staying abreast of new exploits.

At the same time, the shortfall in skilled workers in the area of cyber security is well documented. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the field of Computer and Information Technology is projected to grow by 22% from 2010 to 2020. The report further states that "workers in these occupations will be needed to develop software, increase cybersecurity, and update existing network infrastructure" (United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). However, Jim Gosler of the Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico indicates that there are only about 1,000 security specialists with the right skills to be effective in securing computer systems but that the United States needs about 10,000 to 30,000 individuals (Gosler, 2010).

To help bridge this gap, the Air Force Association conceived of the CyberPatriot competition in 2008 with the goal of increasing the number of skilled individuals working in the field of cyber security (Air Force Association (AFA). 2012). The competition reaches out to talented high school students by getting them excited about cyberspace and issues related to securing it. There are two categories of competitors: an all-service division for junior ROTC and civil air patrol and an open service division for everyone else.

CyberPatriot is designed to encourage competition in cyber security by allowing high schools to enter teams directly into the games. Teams are limited in size from two to five students with each school allowed to submit multiple teams. From its first round of competition in 2009, CyberPatriot has grown dramatically. The most recent competition, CyberPatriot IV, concluded in March 2012 with 1,014 student teams from across the country (Commonwealth of Virginia. Office of the Governor, 2012).

This paper explores how one university was able to successfully partner with the Los Angeles Unified School district (LAUSD) to help foster the CyberPatriot competition with the goal of increasing student interest in STEM disciplines, especially cybersecurity.

INCREASING INTEREST IN STEM DISCIPLINES

It is well documented that to be successful, students must develop an interest in STEM disciplines before entering a higher education program (UMass Dohahue Institute, 2011). This follows since students must be academically prepared for admission to these programs and such preparation normally requires several years of study in math and science.

To reach talented high school students and encourage their successful pursuit in the second STEM area of technology, Cal Poly Pomona began a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2011 to assist with its Beyond the Bell (BTB) program. LAUSD is the second largest public elementary and secondary school district in the nation with 687,534 students and 1,496 schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010). As of August 2012, LAUSD had a graduation rate of 62 percent, with a dropout rate of 21 percent. This compares with a statewide graduation rate of 76 percent and a dropout rate of 14 percent.

BTB is an extracurricular program designed to "inspire learning and achievement beyond the regular school day" (LAUSD, 2009). The program connection with LAUSD was made through the University's Center for Information Assurance with an initial group of students from Franklin High School. The Center hosted both Franklin High students and their faculty coaches on a Saturday event that allowed many students to visit a university campus for the first time.

Of the 180 high school teams that entered the 2012 CyberPatriot IV's open service division, only twelve were invited to the finals in Washington, DC. Of these finalists, two of the teams, Franklin High School from Eagle Rock and Reseda High School from Reseda, both represented the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD, 2011).

For purposes of this study, success is not winning the national competition but rather finding an approach that addresses the shortage of skilled cybersecurity experts in the workforce. Early signs indicate a promising start.

CENTER FOR INFORMATION ASSURANCE

The Cal Poly Pomona Center for Information Assurance was established in 2004 with a strategic mission that combines the College of Business Administration emphasis on strategic use of information technology, the Computer Information Systems learn-by-doing approach to using computers, and the Master of Science in Business Administration emphasis on information systems audit to further the study of Information Assurance and Forensics. The Center supports curriculum, corporate training, high school outreach, camps and competitions that provide hands-on learning in cyber security. Since 2008 the Center has supported the Western Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition at Cal Poly Pomona. In 2011 the Center began a partnership with the LAUSD's Beyond the Bell program in CyberPatriot.

RESEARCH METHOD AND RESULTS

Survey data and interviews were used to determine the reasons for, and outcomes from, Cal Poly Pomona's involvement with the LAUSD CyberPatriot program. Survey data were collected from 146 students competing on LAUSD teams in CyberPatriot. Results are shown below.

Survey Data

Surveys were conducted for the 146 participants in the CyberPatriot group and compared with available demographic data for the district as a whole. As shown in Table 1, participants were divided into five categories based on grade level. Participation rates generally increased by grade level with the one exception being a slight drop in the rate for 11th grade students. The drop in the number of 11th grade students could be attributed to the heavy demands of Advanced Placement classes and taking college entrance examinations. The highest rate was among 12th grade students comprising 36% of the group.

To assess interest in the STEM category of technology, participants were asked to rate their interest in computing. Three options were provided: yes, no, and not sure with results shown in Table 2. As can be expected for a cyber technology based competition, 68% of the participants answered Yes to being interested in the computer field but a surprisingly large number, 32%, indicated either No or Not sure. The lack of computer courses could be a reason for those students that answered Not Sure.

Gender of participants was 73.3% male and 26.7% female as shown in Table 3. When compared with the district, males had a significantly larger representation at 73.3% versus 51.5% for the population, while females appear underrepresented at 26.7% versus 48.5% for the population. However, the number for females does compare favorably with respect to the rate of national participation by women undergraduate students in computing. Recent estimates have placed enrollments by women at just one in seven or about 15% of the undergraduate computing population in the United States (Misa, 2010). Informally, some female participants mentioned that they joined a team because a friend was on already on a team and didn't want to be the only female.

Ethnicity results were obtained by asking students to self-identify themselves as one of five ethnic categories: African American, Hispanic, Caucasian, Asian, and Other. Results are provided for both the CyberPatriot students and then compared with the LAUSD. Hispanics comprised the largest ethnic group at 61.7% of the student competitors, followed by Asians at 20.1%, Caucasians at 7.8%, and African Americans tied with Other at 5.2%. When compared with district, students identifying themselves as Asians and Other had significantly larger representations than the remaining categories. Results are shown in Table 4.

Interviews

To assess the competition and the university-high school partnership, eight interview questions were developed covering three areas of interest: (1) awareness/motivation for participating in the competition, (2) evaluation of the current state of the competition, and (3) needs for future competitions (see Table 5). One question in each area was designed to assess the university/high school partnership itself. Each participant was given the same set of questions.

Since the CyberPatriot competition under study represents a joint effort between the high school faculty, LAUSD administration, LAUSD student competitors, and industry representatives for LAUSD, the researchers believed it was important to capture opinions representing each of these constituencies. Accordingly, interviews were conducted with Diane Miller-Director, Operations Cybersecurity Group, Northrop Grumman; Bruce Gurnick - CyberPatriot Coach for Reseda High School; Harry Talbot - Administrative Coordinator for LAUSD's Beyond The Bell program; and Rafael Munoz - a student competitor.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Awareness/Motivation

Questions 1 through 3 assessed awareness and motivation to participate in CyberPatriot. The results indicate that awareness of the competition at the high school level was gained through informal channels. Two of the three school participants cited word of mouth as the basis for learning of the competition's existence, while one received an e-mail message from a friend. Motivation for participating varied but the goal of winning, in and of itself, was not cited by any of the participants. The idea of CyberPatriot as a STEM program builder was cited by the school administration. All four participants cited Cal Poly Pomona's existing relationship with LAUSD through it's Beyond the Bell program as the basis for learning of the University's involvement with CyberPatriot.

Current state of CyberPatriot

Questions 4 through 6 assessed the current state of the CyberPatriot competition. Each of the participants clearly had a positive view of the competition and its benefit to students and future cyber security workers. Each believed that the CyberPatriot program nurtured cyber security skills. Perhaps most importantly, the student competitor expressed a new interest for working in a future cyber security role. With respect to problems with the competition, a range of issues were cited including vague rules, ambiguous scoring, server overloads, power outages, and bad weather. When asked about the role of the University in furthering their plans for CyberPatriot, the participants were unanimous in their positive opinion of the partnership and the role provided by Cal Poly Pomona. All four expressed appreciation for the staffexpertise, training, student mentoring, online resources, and infrastructure provided.

Future needs for the competition

Questions 7 and 8 assessed future needs for the competition. Since each participant had a distinctly different role in fostering the event, it was not clear from the outset that there would be agreement about the event's future or what direction it should take. First and foremost, all four participants wished to see the competition grow. Both administrator and student requested better training for the event: more development for staffwas requested as well as a centralized training structure for student competitors. The faculty coach requested resolution of the technical problems cited earlier, clarification of competition rules, and better feedback for competitors to improve the educational value of the event. The industry representative also suggested community outreach events where faculty and cyber security students would work directly with interested parties to show them how to secure their home/business networks. All four expressed the desire to see a stronger partnership with the University but perhaps with more online resources to reduce the need for commuting to campus. In addition to the existing competition, the district would like to see an additional university-hosted cyber defense competition for students that would occur during the off-season.

CONCLUSION

Cal Poly Pomona is in the early stages of its partnership with LAUSD in CyberPatriot. From the standpoint of building a better cyber security workforce, initial feedback appears promising. The partnership itself is being strongly embraced by the high school faculty, administrator, and student representatives interviewed for this study. As the program continues to develop, Cal Poly Pomona will have an opportunity for an ongoing partnership with LAUSD through CyberPatriot and cyber security student skills development. This development can expand beyond competitions to both faculty and curriculum development. We believe this is a partnership model that can be easily replicated by other institutions of higher learning.

Future research should focus on tracking students from their initial involvement in CyberPatriot through college and into their professional careers. Longitudinal research in this area can provide significant contributions to success factors in an area that has individual, industry and national security implications.

References

REFERENCES

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http://www.uscyberpatriot.org/about

Commonwealth of Virginia, Office of the Governor. (2012, March 26). Secretary of technology Jim Duffey congratulates CyberPatriot IV finalists [Press release]. Retrieved from

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1184

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Gosler, J. (2010, July 19). Cyberwarrior shortage threatens U. S. security. Retrieved August 28, 2012, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128574055

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Misa, T. J. (2010). Gender codes: Why women are leaving computing. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

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