First-Ever US Women’s Cyber Team Announced

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — US Cyber Games announces twelve women (ages 18–28) have been selected to represent the United States on the first-ever US Women’s Cyber Team. The inaugural US Women’s Cyber Team will participate in a global cyber games exhibition focusing on capture the flag (CTF) as well as attack and defense formats that align with in-demand cybersecurity careers.

In collaboration with teams from Japan, Europe, and the United Kingdom, Team USA will play in the Kunoichi Cyber Games, a women’s cyber games exhibition at the upcoming 2024 Code Blue Conference, November 14–15 in Tokyo, Japan.

“Gender disparity in cybersecurity presents a global opportunity to collaborate,” states US Cyber Games Commissioner Jessica Gulick. “By commissioning all women’s global teams, we can collectively focus on growing this segment of the workforce specifically, thus creating role models and a pipeline of women for cybersecurity careers.”

SELECTION PROCESS
The selection process for joining the US Women’s Cyber Team began with the Season IV, US Cyber Open CTF (June 3–9, 2024). Participants identifying as women were then invited to apply (based on scores). Applicants were evaluated for their expertise in various cybersecurity domains, including attack and defense, vulnerability management, patch management, and forensics, as well as crucial leadership, teamwork, and other workplace skills.

The 2024 US Women’s Cyber Team is:
Lauren Delwiche (Yale University),
Lily Gross (University of North Carolina at Charlotte),
Eliza Hall (University of North Georgia),
Carolina Hatanpaa (Rice University),
Gillian Morris (Dakota State University),
Kris Noyes (Santa Fe College),
Sarah Ogden (Northern Kentucky University),
Alexandria Petitt (California State University, Bakersfield),
Renée Schmidt (Marymount University),
Shiloh Smiles (George Mason University),
Elan Smolar-Eisenberg (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), and
Gwen Vongkasemsiri (Dakota State University).

The US athletes will be led by Head Coach Ken Jenkins and Assistant Head Coach Chelsie Cooper.

We would like to thank our Technical Mentors Angela Ramos, Alycia Farrell, Ben Crenshaw, and David Morgan for their help throughout the selection process.

This program is possible with the support from our sponsors: NICE at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Katzcy PlayCyber, Mastercard, Battelle, and Google. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities at www.uscybergames.com/sponsor.

NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY STRATEGY ALIGNMENT
The US Cyber Games program aligns with the National Cybersecurity Strategy focusing on workforce and international cooperation, as well as the NICE Strategic Plan objective to increase understanding of multiple learning pathways that lead to cybersecurity careers. The US Cyber Games program is supported by NICE, a program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the US Department of Commerce, under financial assistance award #70NANB22H102.

ABOUT THE US CYBER GAMES
US Cyber Games® is committed to informing and inspiring the broader community on ways to develop tomorrow’s diverse cybersecurity workforce. We aim to bring cyber athletes, coaches, and industry leaders together to help scout, train, and send a US Cyber Team to the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC). The US Cyber Team is a traveling esports team where each year, new athletes are considered for selection. The program is run by Katzcy LLC (PlayCyber division), a woman-owned small business. Visit uscybergames.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Beth Mayhew
703-731-8678
[email protected] 

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SOURCE US Cyber Games