Rhode Island
Cyber Foundations Competition
2011-2012
New England Institute of Technology, Rhode Island Department of Education, RI Science & Technology
Advisory Council, and the Tech Collective are pleased to be joining Congressman Jim Langevin in offering
the second annual Rhode Island Cyber Foundations Competition. The Rhode Island Cyber Foundations
Competition is designed to test the computer networking skills of high school students, while introducing them
to the growing field of information technology. The Cyber Foundations Competition will be run by the Center
for Internet Security (CIS), a national non-for-profit organization responsible for identifying and developing
potential talent for the cyber security workforce of the future.
How do students and schools get involved?
Student registration is open currently and will take place through September 30, 2011. To register, the student
or school must contact the Rhode Island coordinator, Erin Flynn at 1-800-736-7744 x3462 or eflynn@neit.edu.
Once students or schools register for the competition schools will receive an access code which allows all
participating students at the school to get started. The cost for the school to register is $100.00 with no limit to
the number of students or $25.00 per person and is paid directly to CIS. While the program is designed to run
without experts needed to guide each student, a teacher contact is required. Full information is also available
through a link on the SANS Institute website http://workforce.cisecurity.org/competitions-camps/cyber-
foundations/registration/
Which students should participate?
Students that have an interest in computer courses or games are likely participants, but so are students that like
to take objects apart to see how they work. The Cyber Foundations Competition is designed to find hundreds
of talented young people around Rhode Island and launch them into college or military programs where they
can continue to develop their knowledge and skills and become key players in the cyber security of the United
States.
What will students need to participate?
Participating students will need YouTube access for competition activities but teachers may use downloaded
versions of the videos. The activities can be performed either at school or at home with computer and internet
access. Learning the material will not require any changes to the high school curricula since the competition’s
teaching sites are being set up to provide both written and video lessons for students who need to brush up or
learn the key content to prepare for the competitions. Pre-competition preparation will be part of the program,
as will follow-up activities to keep students engaged in the possibility of selecting cyber security as a career.
What is the Timeline?
Dates for the 2012 Cyber Foundations competition are:
September 30: Registration deadline with RI state coordinator and CIS website
October 3: All registrations must be paid in full. Registration is closed.
October 3 to October 21: Online tutorial for Module 1 (Networking) open
October 21: Competition for Module 1
October 24 to November 4: Online tutorial for Module 2 (Operating Systems) open
November 4: Competition for Module 2
November 7 to November 18: Online tutorial for Module 3 (System Administration) open
November 18: Competition for Module 3
How much time will these competitions take?
Each of the three competitions are expected to take a total of 2-6 hours of preparation time and about 1 hour for
the competitive activities.
Private Industry and Volunteers needed!
While the program is designed to run without experts needed to guide each student, the business, military,
education and nonprofit sectors are encouraged to get involved. They may volunteer as mentors, speak at
workshops or through webinars and web chats, or help with special outreach programs. These partnerships will
help connect high school students to local higher education institutions and businesses and provide them with a
year-round connection to the cyber security or technical industries to promote career interest in a necessary and
growing field.
What is the U.S. Cyber Challenge?
Cyber Foundations is the entry-level competition in a series of increasingly challenge contests sponsored by
the U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC). USCC was chartered to identify and nurture talented Americans who
can become the cyber leaders, cyber guardians and cyber warriors for United States companies, government
agencies, and military services. USCC is a division of the Center for Internet Security, a national not-for-
profit organization responsible for development and distribution of benchmarks that establish standards for
the secure configuration of information technology systems; provision of cyber security for state, local, tribal
and territorial governments; and the identification and development of potential talent for the cyber security
workforce of the future. For more information on U.S. Cyber Challenge or the Cyber Foundations Competition,
please contact Renée N. McLaughlin, Executive Director, renee.mclaughlin@cisecurity.org, (518) 526-3947.
For more information on this program, you can visit these websites:
Cyber Foundations 2012- http://workforce.cisecurity.org/competitions-camps/cyber-foundations/cffall-
2011.cfmCongressman Langevin’s website- http://langevin.house.gov/issues/homeland/2010/12/langevin-works-to-
build-cyber-work-force.shtmlU.S. Cyber Challenge- http://www.uscyberchallenge.org/
