Adm. Michael S. Rogers, commander, U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency / Chief, Central Security Service, presented the Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX) trophy to U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) CDX team during a ceremony in Memorial Hall, May 12.

In the annual Cyber Defense Exercise, experts who help secure the U.S. government's most sensitive communication systems challenge service academy teams to protect networks the teams designed, built, and configured at their respective schools. NSA specialists grade each team's ability to effectively maintain network services while detecting, responding to, and recovering from security intrusions and compromises. The entire exercise is conducted on virtual private networks.

This year, a core team of 20 midshipmen triumphed over teams from the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Air Force Institute of Technology and Royal Military College of Canada. It was USNA's third trophy since the annual competition began in 2001.

"This is a really special day, not just for the Naval Academy but for our entire academic department, in particular our Cyber Security Studies Center," said Vice Adm. Ted Carter, USNA superintendent. "We made a real effort to give them as much of an edge as we could for this competition."

The midshipmen on the cyber defense team were able to work with some of the newest and most highly developed computer equipment on the Yard during practice sessions for the CDX exercise. The growing cyber department was able to provide them with unique networks, hardware, and laptops, which helped them to hone their skills as cyber warriors.

"This is really a reflection of the concerted effort of a part of this institution to ask itself how to create a body of knowledge and a mission set that will be foundational for the future of our department," said Rogers. "The victory of the team this year is reflective of that greater effort and that longer journey."

The continued development of the USNA cyber program is scheduled to include the construction of an entire academic building, which will house the majority of the expanding cyber program. The cyber building construction is anticipated to be completed in summer of 2019.

"I think this accomplishment shows a lot about the amount of support that's been going into the cyber program here at the academy," said Midshipman 2nd Class Robert Mason. "Between the expansion of faculty, the development of a new academic building, and the creation of a cyber-major, we really are pushing on all fronts to continue the upward trend of this career field."

In May of 2013, USNA began offering midshipmen the opportunity to major in cyber operations, an interdisciplinary major that covers the entire scope of cyberspace and related operations, both technical and non-technical. Mason, along with 29 other midshipmen, will be the first to graduate from USNA with a major in cyber operations, in 2016.

"We are all elated but it's not so much about winning the trophy as it's the fact that this accomplishment reflects the best performance that I've seen out of the Naval Academy during the Cyber Defense Exercise over the past few years," Midshipman 1st Class Zane Markel, team captain. "I've really enjoyed seeing how much cyber security education has grown since I was a plebe here. The attention and focus on cyber has increased so much over the past couple of years and with the trophy as evidence; we're leading the pack in cyber security education."

Markel is one of four seniors on the team that will commission as an information warfare officer upon graduation May 22. As information warfare officers, they will be taking the security tools that they've learned at the Naval Academy to the fleet to conduct cyber operations.

Later this week, the team is scheduled to meet with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus as part of their continued recognition for winning the 2015 Cyber Defense Exercise.

For more news from U.S. Naval Academy, visit www.navy.mil/.