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Sponsoring the Next Generation of Cyber Defenders

After excelling in regional competitions, including one hosted at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, 24 high school students from across Washington converged in Tacoma to compete in the SkillsUSA Cyber Security Contest at Clover Park Technical College.

What is SkillsUSA?

Founded in 1965 as the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, SkillsUSA is a leading Career and Technical Education (CTE) organization with over 400,000 members nationwide. Its contests span more than 100 career fields, from cabinetmaking and firefighting to nursing and cybersecurity, providing a platform for students to showcase their technical and professional skills at local, state, and national levels.

The Competition

In this year's Cyber Security competition, sponsored by ESP, students formed 12 teams of two and competed in three distinct areas:

  • Soft skills: Demonstrated through technical interviews.

  • Knowledge: Assessed via a professional certification exam.

  • Hands-on technical skills: Tested in practical labs that featured progressively challenging scenarios across multiple domains, including cryptography, penetration testing, digital forensics, programming, system hardening, and networking.

ESP's Role

ESP is proud to sponsor prizes for the first and second-place contestants. Awards include:

Previous state medalists have since used these devices to build educational lab environments and expand their cybersecurity knowledge through hands-on experimentation. At ESP, we believe in fostering the next generation of cybersecurity experts and inspiring young minds to pursue careers in this critical field. By supporting this competition, ESP aims to recognize and reward exceptional talent, encourage innovation, and contribute to developing a robust cybersecurity workforce.

Challenging Scenarios

Using the National Cyber Security Technical Standards, Alexander Ray, a Network Security Engineer at ESP, designed the competition to prioritize real-world applicability and interactivity. The challenges focused on identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities, analyzing breaches, and responding to realistic threat scenarios. For instance, students secured and disinfected compromised systems before conducting forensic analysis with tools like Autopsy and Wireshark to investigate corporate espionage, identifying malicious actors and exfiltrated data.

Additionally, as the judge and active red team participant, Alexander Ray introduced dynamic challenges by tampering with systems the teams were defending, emphasizing the importance of disrupting the cyber kill chain under pressure.

By combining technical rigor with real-world scenarios and building iteratively on feedback from previous state events, the competition provided students with an invaluable experience that combined classroom learning and professional practice.

ESP Supports Community Involvement

Alexander Ray, a dedicated cybersecurity enthusiast, has been actively involved in the SkillsUSA competition since 2019. His contributions have been significant, ranging from developing cybersecurity contests from scratch to crafting competition materials and scenarios. He has also served as a judge and scorekeeper, demonstrating his expertise in the field. Additionally, Ray holds the position of Washington State Technical Chair for cybersecurity within SkillsUSA.

In his role at ESP, he is currently preparing servers for ongoing regional CyberPatriot training. These servers, acquired through a grant from Spokane Public Schools, will also be accessible to students participating in SkillsUSA teams, further empowering young cybersecurity talents.

Building a Strong Cybersecurity Workforce

The SkillsUSA Cyber Security competition empowers young enthusiasts by providing challenging, real-world scenarios. With dedicated support from organizations like ESP and individuals like Alexander Ray, they are fostering a strong cybersecurity workforce.

John DemkeESP, Inc.Cyber Warriors