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SAN DIEGO –Securing Our eCity Foundation, National Defense Industry Association and National University announced they will be using the Project Ares platform by Circadence and supported by ScaleMatrix for the SoCal Cyber Cup Challenge.

“I am so excited for this year’s challenge,” Liz Fraumann, executive director of the Securing Our eCity Foundation, said. “The program continues to get better each year and offers a more sophisticated level of interaction with Project Ares. Talk about a game changer.”

Cyber security is the fastest growing job sector and is a rapidly changing field that affects all facets of people’s lives. The SoCal Cyber Cup Challenge offers students, coaches and mentors the ability to work as a team to defend systems and networks in a competitive cyber challenge. It is designed to afford middle and high school age students the opportunity to learn skills that can directly lead to an exciting career in cyber security. In addition to the skills gained through the competition, the schools of the top teams are awarded scholarship funds to support their school programs. With ever-shrinking school budgets, the much-needed funds can go a long way to support a program.

Project Ares brings a whole different dimension to the challenge than in previous years. It allows flexibility to really challenge students who learn at such a rapid pace and grasp ideas quickly. For those who remember, Project Ares is a lot like the movie “War Games” with Matthew Broderick in 1983 only much more sophisticated. It is incredibly visual and allows for various custom scenarios, so each one will be unique as the competition progresses. The finals will be held in March 2018.

“We need to continue to push the education boundaries for today’s students, and this new platform allows us to do just that,” Fraumann said. “The students are going to love it.”

The goal of the challenge is to encourage students to learn about computer security threats by providing an educational venue for them to apply the theories and practical skills they have learned and to foster a spirit of teamwork, ethical behavior and effective communication both within and across teams.

As with last year, the competition will utilize Sports Illustrated Play and be open to all middle and high school aged students in Imperial, San Diego, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Team registration for the 2017 SoCal Cyber Cup Challenge is open now. Students and schools are encouraged to sign up.

Teams may be formed with any youth organization or school. To learn more about the SoCal Cyber Cup Challenge or to register, visit http://socal.cc.