Top cyber athletes to test their skills in sports-style combine event
July 9, 2021 - RESTON, VA -The inaugural US Cyber Games™ led by Katzcy in collaboration with the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), announces the 2021 season coaching team and top athletes invited to the training combine today at a live-streamed US Cyber Combine Kick-Off Event. The US Cyber Games is an esports program collaboratively designed to harness the engagement value and learning benefits of gaming to best equip cybersecurity talent with vital skills and competencies.
The US Cyber Combine Kick-Off features an all-star lineup of government, commercial, and academic leaders to welcome the 2021 athletes to the Combine:
- Rodney Petersen, Director of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- Meghan Good, Vice President and Cybersecurity Lead at Leidos
- Eric Goldstein, Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
In addition to these speakers, there will be a short panel titled “From Gamer to Security Analyst: Playing to Win” composed of a number of corporate leaders.
This yearlong talent hunt was launched in May with the US Cyber Open. Nearly 700 cyber athletes registered to compete. A select group of athletes from this program have been invited back to participate in the US Cyber Combine. This sports-style combine program is designed to run the athletes through drills, training, and aptitude evaluations to help improve their knowledge and skills in a variety of common cybersecurity game categories (i.e., cryptography, reconnaissance, mobile security, IoT security, network and web security, and reversing and exploitation).
The outcome of the US Cyber Combine will be the selection of the first-ever US Cyber Team® at an October 5 Draft Day. Visit the US Cyber Games website to register for both events.
The first-ever US Cyber Team will represent the United States at the inaugural International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC) where at least nine nations will compete in Athens, Greece, in December 2021.
The US Cyber Games are led by PlayCyber (by Katzcy) in collaboration with the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). Current US Cyber Games sponsors include Leidos, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, CompTIA, BAE Systems and AWS, Resolvn, Cyware, Resecurity, and Synack. Partners include Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu, U.S. Cyber Range, National Security Agency, ITSP, The CyberWire, OODA Loop, Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) International, National Cyber Security Alliance, and CyberSeek.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for the team’s training, equipment, and travel and are vital to the success of the US Cyber Team. For more information on how to sponsor or support the team, visit www.uscybergames.com. All sponsor funding is paid directly to and managed by our certified 501(c)(3) fiscal partner.
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.
About Katzcy
Katzcy is a social impact company committed to helping our tech and cybersecurity community grow through impactful marketing strategies, security awareness games, and skill-oriented tech competitions. As a certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Katzcy is dedicated to growth, innovation, and progress. Through our PlayCyber line of business, Katzcy is helping build a stronger and more diverse community of cybersecurity athletes by delivering the world’s most exciting cyber games experience.
