News Release Provided By DTMB
Detroit — The seventh North American International Cyber Summit, hosted by Gov. Rick Snyder, brought together more than 850 participants today to discuss solutions for the cybersecurity dangers that threaten the security of citizens and business throughout the world.
“Information technology has been at the core of nearly every major advancement made in recent history,” Gov. Snyder said. “As we embrace these new technologies to improve our lives, we also have to ensure that we are acting responsibly to secure the sensitive data being collected and shared. It takes the collaboration of leaders in all industry sectors to provide continued public confidence in our online interactions.”
Highlighting the skills needed to keep the country safe from cyber-attacks, students from Cadillac High School (Cadillac, MI) were crowned champions of the Governor’s High School Cyber Challenge after defeating the 201 other teams that competed in the third-year event. The ten top teams after the first round of the competition battled in the finals at the Cyber Summit. The members of the winning team consisted of Josh Jacobson, Tucker Bachman and Gavin Phillips. The team from Marquette Senior High (Marquette, MI) took home the second-place trophy and a team from Okemos High School (Okemos, MI) finished in third.
Additionally, Gov. Snyder announced the opening of two new Cyber Hubs at Northern Michigan University and at the University of Michigan-Flint. Cyber Range Hubs establish Michigan as the national epicenter for security training and workforce development, hosting events, exercises and training classes. Statewide hubs operate as a physical extension of the Michigan Cyber Range, the nation’s largest unclassified cyber range.
“This next installment in the Michigan Cyber Range continues the development of a robust statewide cybersecurity community,” Snyder said. “These regional cyber hubs position Michigan to be a leader in driving the next generation of cybersecurity protections and training a workforce able to support cybers initiatives across many industries.”
The hubs offer industry-recognized certifications, exercises and workshops aimed at qualifying individuals for positions and contracts in cybersecurity fields. The Hubs will be developed in partnership with Merit Network and the Michigan Defense Center, an extension of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in the next six months and will help expand the cyber ecosystem to the Upper Peninsula and Genesee County.
National and international experts joining Snyder at the summit included Matthew Travis, Deputy Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Dug Song, Vice-President of Duo Security Business Unit; David Cagigal, Chief Information Officer of Wisconsin; Chetrice Mosley, Cybersecurity Program Director of Indiana; Joshua D. Spence, Chief Information Security Officer of West Virginia and numerous other information technology experts.
More information about Michigan’s cybersecurity efforts and helpful links on ways to protect yourself from cyber threats can be found at www.michigan.gov/cybersecurity
GOVERNOR’S HIGH SCHOOL CYBER CHALLENGE
1st Place – Cadillac High School
Left to right: Gov. Rick Snyder, Tucker Bachman, Josh Jacobson, Gavin Phillips, Coach Andrew Whipple, Michigan Chief Information Officer Dave DeVries
2nd Place – Marquette Senior High School
Left to right: Gov. Rick Snyder, Mathurin Gagnon, Willem Guter, Coach Kim Carr, Michigan Chief Information Officer Dave DeVries
3rd Place – Okemos High School
Left to right: Gov. Rick Snyder, Alex Ruan, Jainil Shah, Coach Arham Jain, Tristan Lusardi, Michigan Chief Information Officer Dave DeVries