ASHBURN, Va., June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The first-ever US Cyber Team is headed to the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC) taking place June 14–17, 2022, in Athens, Greece. The US Cyber Games™, led by Katzcy® in cooperation with the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is a yearlong, traveling cybersecurity-meets-eSports program built to encourage individuals interested in cybersecurity careers, to enable them to build confidence and skills through competitions, and to become better prepared and connected to the cybersecurity workforce. 

"The excitement is tangible as we prepare to travel to the ICC finals. Our coaches, captains, and athletes have dedicated many hours of preparation for this special, first-ever event," says Jessica Gulick, US Cyber Games Commissioner. "We are honored and thankful for being invited by ENISA to what is sure to be a memorable and exciting event. Go, US Cyber Team!"  

The aim of the international challenge is to attract early career professionals and raise awareness locally, regionally, and globally on the education and skills needed in the area of cybersecurity. Teams from around the globe come together to compete in a series of challenges, including web application and system exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, hardware challenges, and attack/defense challenges. ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, together with regional and international organizations representing over 64 countries, have been preparing for this first-time event since early 2021.

"We are looking forward to welcoming all teams in Athens for the first International Cybersecurity Challenge," states Demosthenes Ikonomou, Head of Capacity Building Unit, ENISA. "We have prepared two days with tough challenges for some of the brightest cyber athletes in the world. We hope the ICC will inspire many young, talented individuals to pursue a career in cybersecurity."

The US Cyber Games program recruits, trains, mentors, and prepares the very best in cybersecurity through a series of competitions and training, including the US Cyber Open Virtual Event and Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, US Cyber Combine Invitational, and US Cyber Team Draft. Once the team is selected, they participate in global scrimmages to help them prepare for the final competition.

The US Cyber Games would like to recognize and thank the Season I coaches and technical mentors for their time, influence, and commitment to sportsmanship:

• Head Coach, Dr. TJ O'Connor, Cybersecurity Program Chair, Florida Tech
• Red vs. Blue Coach, Dr. Dane Brown, Assistant Professor, U.S. Naval Academy
• CTF Coach, Jasmine Jackson, Senior Application Security Engineer, The Walt Disney Studios
• Technical Mentor, Dr. Bryson Payne, Professor and Director, Center for Cyber Ops, University of North Georgia
• Technical Mentor, Dr. Suzanna Schmeelk, Assistant Professor, St. John's University

The US Cyber Games would like to congratulate the following members of the US Cyber Team traveling to Greece and wish them good luck: Samuel Hayden (Head Captain), Samuel Meyers (RvB Captain), Sears Schulz (CTF Captain), Aiden Benderly, Bobby Corser, Susan Jeziorowski, Chriss Issing, John Johnson, Chandi Kanhai, Joshua Klosterman, Rajat Patel, Andrew Phillips, Tyler Randolph, Logan Stratton, Jake Smith, Jayden Bulexa, Austin King, Jarrod Monahan, and Akosua Wordie. Special thanks to Christopher Roberts and Eric Leslie who trained diligently to be on the team but are unable to travel.

"We celebrate the first-ever US Cyber Team and look forward to the athletes demonstrating the skills acquired after much dedication and hard work these past several months preparing for the international competition," said Rodney Petersen, Director of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education. "The US Cyber Games yearlong process legitimizes cybersecurity competitions as an impactful way to develop skilled cybersecurity athletes and provides a platform for the United States to identify and showcase some of our best and brightest talent."

Organizations that share in our overall mission and are looking to make an impact on our global cybersecurity workforce are invited to support the team by becoming sponsors. More information is available at https://www.uscybergames.com/sponsor. Follow the US Cyber Games on LinkedIn and Twitter for real-time updates from the ICC.

The US Cyber Games founding partners Katzcy and the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) would like to thank the following Season I sponsors: Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Raytheon Intelligence & Space, Leidos, Hack the Box, Florida Institute of Technology, SimSpace, HyperX, Protegrity, Capitol Technology University, Allied Esports, Archon Clothing, BAE & AWS, CompTIA, Cyware, Procircular, Resolvn, University of Wisconsin Extended Campus (UWEX), Resecurity, Synack, US Cyber Range, Women's Society of Cyberjutsu (WSC), National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA), National Security Agency (NSA), CyberSeek, ISSA, Raices Cyber Org, Cyber Insecurity, Dark Reading, ITSP Magazine, OODA Cast/CTOVision, Simply Cyber, and The Cyberwire.

About Katzcy

As a certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Katzcy is dedicated to growth, innovation, and progress. Through our PlayCyber business line, Katzcy is helping build a stronger and more diverse community of cybersecurity professionals by delivering exciting cyber games experiences. Our mission is to bring together and inspire the very best cybersecurity athletes and build a stronger and more diverse community by delivering the world's most exciting cyber games for players, fans, and sponsors. Through our PlayCyber line of business, Katzcy hosts epic life-changing games such as US Cyber Games, Wicked6, Global Cyber Games, and more. Learn more at https://www.katzcy.com.

About NICE

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) focuses on efforts to close the hiring gap in the cybersecurity workforce. We are led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. Department of Commerce, and are a partnership between government, academia, and the private sector focused on cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development. Learn more about NICE at https://www.nist.gov/nice. 

This project is supported by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), a program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce, under financial assistance award #70NANB21H032.

Contact: 
Beth Mayhew 
703.651.2667

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