Neel Mehta
Northrop Grumman is set to hold several cyber defense competitions in the U.S., Middle East and Europe in April as part of the company’s cyber education and workforce development goals.
“Globally, we face a critical shortage of trained professionals ready to take on the job of securing our systems and networks,” Kathy Warden, corporate vice president and president of Northrop’s mission systems unit, said in a release issued Thursday.
Northrop Grumman Foundation and the Air Force Association will host the 8th annual CyberPatriot contest on April 12 in Maryland, where high school and middle school students will try to protect virtual networks and mobile devices from a team of hackers.
The CyberArabia competition will also be held at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia from April 18 to 19 while the CyberCenturion competition will be on April 26 at the National Museum of Computing in the U.K.
“These competitions are a great way to get youth involved and open their eyes to the enormous potential of pursuing an education and a career in cybersecurity,” Warden added.
Northrop will also sponsor a cyber workforce discussion on April 12, featuring federal CIO Tony Scott and Rodney Petersen, head of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
