The Future of Cyber Security

West Ashley High School students Josh Moore, Joseph Ingram, Dhruval Patel, Kaylani Jordan, Michael Lanier, Jonathan Garcia, and Mostafa Mongy, who take classes at Lowcountry Tech Academy (LTA), competed in the Palmetto Cyber Defense Competition (PCDC), held at Trident Technical College, where they placed third overall.
PCDC is a three-day Cyber Defense Competition that was started by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic in partnership with the South Carolina Lowcountry Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA). The competition is intended to promote Cyber Security education and was started in hopes that it would increase and encourage high schools and universities to increase their student’s knowledge and awareness of this ever-growing problem.
During the competition, students, known as  the “Blue Team,” operate a small network while they attempt to secure their computers and its network from the “Red Team” or hackers. The team must perform basic business tasks, such as mail and keep particular services running, like database and web servers, while the “Red Team” tries to attack them. Blue Teams are also scored on their ability to detect and protect themselves from outside threats while configuring and maintaining their network.
In order to participate in PCDC each team must qualify by placing in the top three in a separate competition called Cyber Patriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. This competition was created by the Air Force Association to inspire high school students to choose careers in cybersecurity or other STEM-affiliated careers. Once they advance to the PCDC, each team is paired with a mentor from SPAWAR that helps the team to prepare for competition.
The Lowcounty Tech Academy students came in third out of several different schools in South Carolina that participated in the competition, including Summerville, Wando, and South Aiken. The Palmetto Scholars Academy came in first place while Ashley Ridge High School took second.