Katzcy has signed a five-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to help train and prepare professionals for US Cyber Games competition, the Virginia-based woman- and minority-owned small business announced in a prepared statement.
Training the Next Generation of Cyber Athletes
Katzcy, a company focused on building a diverse community of cybersecurity professionals, will collaborate with NIST's National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education to support the US Cyber Games. This effort will bring together talented cybersecurity athletes, coaches and industry leaders to build an elite US Cyber Team for global cybersecurity competition.
Correspondingly, Katzcy will align cyber athlete recruiting efforts, cybersecurity competitions and training initiatives with the NICE Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity. Katzcy explained that the NICE Framework will allow the US Cyber Games to demonstrate “how a consistent lexicon can be used to help ensure consistency in how cybersecurity work is described and performed.”
The joint effort, according to NIST, is part of its mission to: “energize, promote, and coordinate a robust community working together to advance an integrated ecosystem of cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development.”
US Cyber Athletes Prepare for International Competition
Now in its second year, the US Cyber Games comprises four primary phases: the Open, Combine, Draft, and Game Season. The US Cyber Open is a free event open to anyone interested in cybersecurity games, regardless of age or experience level.
Top scoring participants competed at the US Cyber Combine, an intensive mentored-evaluation and training over several weeks. A group of final participants, who made the US Cyber Team, were selected from the combine and announced at the US Cyber Games Draft Day. The draft was held at the U.S. Department of Commerce headquarters in Washington, D.C. on October 17.
A total of 30 athletes, ages 18–25 and representing 14 states, were selected over five rounds of the draft. Cyber athletes will compete at the International Cybersecurity Championship (ICC) in San Diego, California, July 31 to August 4, 2023. See a full list of coaches and technical mentors.
