Cyber Arabia - Northrop Grumman

King Saud University Partners with Northrop Grumman for CyberArabia to Drive Innovation in Cyber Security Among University Students Nationwide

Mon, 09 Oct 2017 14:00:00 GMT

RIYADH, Oct. 9, 2017 – King Saud University and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) are joining hands for CyberArabia to foster innovation in cyber security among Saudi university students.

The third annual cyber security workshop and competition, CyberArabia, to be held Oct. 11-12, 2017, is part of the company’s global commitment to cyber education and workforce development, and will include a cyber defense competition that recognizes winners on both the men’s and women’s campuses across Saudi universities.

Walid Abukhaled, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Middle East, said, “We are delighted to partner with King Saud University for the third consecutive year to host the CyberArabia competition. Each year we witness outstanding and talented students, men and women alike, from across the Kingdom come together to put their skills to the test. While the competition is fun, the importance of building cyber skills is quite serious and important to the Kingdom.”

Commenting on their collaboration Dr. Jalal Al-Muhtadi, director, Center of Excellence in Information Assurance, King Saud University said, “It is an honor to host the CyberArabia competition. Events such as this help to build a foundation among the students in the field of engineering and technology and create awareness about cyber security and the serious threats posed by cyber attacks.”

Following the hands-on workshop portion of CyberArabia, the competition challenges students to find and eradicate cybersecurity vulnerabilities in virtual images of common operating systems. Not only are the students challenged to put their cyber skills to the test, they must do so in a limited time. The structure of the competition helps to reinforce professional skills such as leadership, collaboration, teamwork and communication. Those teams that work best together to quickly identify vulnerabilities and harden their systems will be the most successful.

CyberArabia was inspired by and is supported by CyberPatriot, a U.S.-based, youth cyber-defense competition created in 2009 by the nonprofit Air Force Association and presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation. More than 4,400 teams of students participated in CyberPatriot IX last year. In addition, Northrop Grumman has partnered with Cyber Security Challenge UK to sponsor CyberCenturion, the first team-based cyber security contest in the United Kingdom.

A video on CyberArabia can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/bcuU4uw6V-c

The Air Force Association is a nonprofit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Its mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor airmen and our Air Force heritage.

Northrop Grumman is committed to preparing tomorrow’s cyber workforce and is engaged in supporting numerous cyber security education, training and technology initiatives globally. For more information on Northrop Grumman in cyber, click here.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.com and follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews, for more information.

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Northrop Grumman Hosts Second Annual Cyber Defense Competition at King Saud University

Wed, 04 May 2016 06:00:00 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 4, 2016 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in collaboration with King Saud University (KSU) hosted its second annual cyber security competition last week, known as CyberArabia, for students across Saudi universities. The program – part of the company's global commitment to cyber education and workforce development – was held on April 18 – 19 and included a cyber defense competition that recognized winners on both the men's and women's campuses.

A photo gallery from the competition can be found here .

This year's competition grew from approximately 70 participants in 2015 to a capacity group of more than 140 including students from Prince Sultan University, Princess Nora University and others.

"We are very pleased with the growth and success of CyberArabia this year," said Walid Abukhaled, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Middle East Region. "Any lasting solution to the threats posed by cyber attacks begins with a foundation in science, technology, engineering and math education coupled with cyber security awareness and training. We were delighted to work with the outstanding students across the Kingdom and faculty of King Saud University to once again bring this unique and powerful program to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

During the hands-on instruction portion of the workshop, students from both the men's and women's campus used a simulated Windows system as instructors demonstrated important cyber security principles such as encryption, account management and security tools like firewalls and anti-malware.

Then, students put their skills to the test and broke into teams for a cyber defense competition. Teams were charged with hardening virtual networks and implementing security policies. Teams were scored on how fast and thoroughly they identified and remediated cyber vulnerabilities and intrusions – similar to what a cyber defender would do to protect information and networks. The top team from each day's competition received a CyberArabia Team Champion trophy and a cash award of 18,000 SAR.

The competition was modeled after the U.S. CyberPatriot Youth Cyber Defense Competition, a program created by the Air Force Association, a nonprofit organization advocating for education, and presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation.

"The students were thoroughly engaged in learning about cyber defense and how these new skills can lead to amazing opportunities in the field of cyber security," said Diane Miller, director, Global Cyber Education and Workforce Development Programs, Northrop Grumman. "The students were a diverse mix of majors including computer science, information technology, information systems and software engineering. That diversity of knowledge, skills and experience, combined with effective collaboration and communication, helped each team achieve its best."

Northrop Grumman is advancing cyber education and training around the world. On April 12, the foundation, in partnership with AFA, presented, the 8 ^th Annual CyberPatriot competition in Baltimore, Maryland. On April 26, in partnership with Cyber Security Challenge U.K., Northrop Grumman sponsored CyberCenturion , a U.K. version of CyberPatriot at the National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park.

Added Miller: "Working with KSU, we were able to host an impactful session that I'm confident will help these students launch their own cyber careers and do their part to keep the Kingdom safe from the growing and ever-evolving cyber threat."

Northrop Grumman is committed to preparing tomorrow's cyber workforce and is engaged in supporting numerous cyber security education, training and technology initiatives globally. For more information on Northrop Grumman in cyber, click here .

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

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Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Global Commitment to Building Tomorrow's Cyber Workforce

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 13:04:00 GMT

BALTIMORE, April 7, 2016 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the Northrop Grumman Foundation will sponsor cyber defense competitions this month in the U.S., Middle East and Europe demonstrating the company's global commitment to cyber education and workforce development and the importance of inspiring tomorrow's youth to pursue a career in cybersecurity. In addition, the company will sponsor a cyber workforce discussion featuring Tony Scott, U.S. federal chief information officer.

"Cyber is a borderless threat. Globally, we face a critical shortage of trained professionals ready to take on the job of securing our systems and networks," said Kathy Warden, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. "We are channeling our expertise to help tomorrow's workforce develop the skills and competencies needed to succeed and keep all sectors of our economy safe. 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."

Competitions:

The 8 ^th annual CyberPatriot competition is slated for April 12 in Baltimore. Created by the Air Force Association and presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation , teams of high school and middle school students will compete face-to-face in a one-day event to defend virtual networks and mobile devices from a professional aggressor team. A record 3,300 teams entered nationwide this year, with the top 28 teams - including three middle school teams - competing in the finals. Media are invited to attend the competition. For more information, click here or follow the competition on Twitter @CyberPatriot, #CP8Finals.
The CyberArabia competition will take place at King Saud University, Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia on April 18 and 19. This is the second year that Northrop Grumman has hosted this two-day cyber security awareness and training session, which will include a hands-on training workshop culminating in a cyber defense competition on both the men's and women's campuses.
The CyberCenturion competition will be held at the National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park, in the United Kingdom on April 26. Now in its second year, CyberCenturion is the U.K.'s first team-based cyber security contest for 12-18 year olds. Sponsored by Northrop Grumman in partnership with Cyber Security Challenge U.K., the competition aims to engage talented young people with an interest in cyber as a way to bridge the national skills gap in STEM subjects and encourage careers in cyber security. Media are invited to attend the competition. For more about CyberCenturion, click here . Or follow the conversation on Twitter @CyberChallenge, #CyberCenturion.

In addition to these competitions, Northrop Grumman will sponsor a cyber workforce discussion with Passcode on April 12 titled "Workforce 2.0: How to cultivate cybersecurity professionals." Headlining the discussion will be Tony Scott, U.S. federal chief information officer, along with Rodney Petersen, leader of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Maryland. Follow the conversation on Twitter via the hashtag #SecurityCulture and @csmpasscode . Or follow the livestream here .

Northrop Grumman and the Northrop Grumman Foundation are committed to supporting cyber security education, training, technology and workforce development. Highlights include the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Cyber Scholars program; the University of Maryland Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students program; the university-based Cybersecurity Research Consortium ; the Cync incubator program in partnership with bwtech@UMBC; UK CyberInvest , in which the company is an industry partner, and numerous other global academia-focused partnerships. For more about Northrop Grumman in cyber, go to www.northropgrumman.com/cyber .

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

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