The Missouri High School Cybersecurity Challenge is an annual event hosted by MOREnet that provides high school students the opportunity to explore the field of computer science and encourage them to investigate a career in cybersecurity or other STEM-related fields.
The cybersecurity market has grown rapidly in recent years. It is expected to grow from $85.23 billion in 2023 to $92.44 billion in 2024, a compound annual growth rate of 8.5 percent*. To do our part to help address the ongoing shortage of cybersecurity talent, we partnered with Missouri’s Department of Secondary and Elementary Education to host this year’s challenge. Thanks in part to funds from the Computer Science Standards program, Missouri schools could participate at no cost.
The first round of the 2024 Missouri High School Cybersecurity Challenge was held online from Jan. 16-18. We’re proud of the 65 teams and 181 students who solved challenges involving encryption, programming, general cybersecurity and open-source intel during round one of this year’s challenge.
The top 10 scoring teams from that virtual round will compete in the finals as part of the Technical Training Summit in Columbia on Feb. 6, 2024. During the finals, the students will solve cybersecurity challenges in CYBER.org’s Cyber Range. The competition includes students using real-world tools with common cyber attacks to defend against them, in a controlled, safe environment.
The 10 teams represent six Missouri school districts, listed in alphabetical order by district then team name:
Eldon Career Center, Team A
Eldon Career Center, Team B
Marionville High School, CyberElite
McDonald County High School, Mustangs 2
Summit Technology Academy, Team Sudoers
Timberland High School (Wentzville), Cyber @ THS
Timberland High School (Wentzville), Phish-Fryers
West High School (FZ), Cyber Spy
West High School (FZ), Jag Wires
West High School (FZ), NOT THE BEST BUT PRETTY GOOD
* Source: https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/cybersecurity-services-global-market-report