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From Space Missions to Threat Hunting: Preparing the Next Generation of Cyber Defenders "A Cyber Viking never stops learning. Whether exploring the Moon or defending cyberspace, every new challenge is another opportunity to grow." By the time Day 4 arrived, our CyberPatriot Advanced Camp students had already spent the week learning to think differently. They had explored how the Internet connects the world, hunted for hidden threats inside Windows systems, investigated malici

🌎 Exploring the World's Digital Battlefield & Hunting Like a Cyber Viking "A Viking never sails into unknown waters without first scouting the horizon. The same is true for cybersecurity." Day 3 of the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Advanced Camp was all about seeing the bigger picture—literally. Before you can defend a computer, you first need to understand how the entire world stays connected. 🌊 Sailing Across the Digital Seas When people think of the Internet, they o

CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Advanced Camp '26 Continues with Cisco Networking, Active Threat Hunting, and Windows Automation Yesterday, our campers began their journey into one of CyberPatriot's most challenging—and often most intimidating—subjects: networking. We broke down IP addresses, binary, subnet masks, CIDR notation, and subnetting. By the end of the day, students had discovered that subnetting isn't magic—it's simply a logical process. Today, they found out th

An Exciting First Day of the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Advanced Camp at St. Mary's University There is something special about walking back onto the campus of St. Mary's University each summer. It marks the beginning of another opportunity to inspire, challenge, and prepare the next generation of cyber defenders. Today was exactly that as the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Advanced Camp officially kicked off—and what an incredible first day it was! One of the hig

CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Standard Camp 2026 Summer of Cyber Event #3 is officially in the books! This week I had the privilege of serving as a Lead Instructor for the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Standard Camp, and what an incredible five days it was. Every year I leave camp exhausted, energized, inspired, and reminded why I love teaching cybersecurity. Over the course of five days, students learned about operating systems, cybersecurity fundamentals, Windows

Entering the World of Linux Days 4 and 5 of the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Standard Camp were all about exploring Linux, understanding how operating systems work behind the scenes, and developing the skills needed to secure them. Before jumping into Day 5, I would first like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Rita Flores for stepping in and leading Day 4 of camp while I fulfilled my civic duty at the Bexar County Courthouse for jury service. Mrs. Flores provided

⚡🛡️ CyberPatriot Standard Camp – Day 3 Before we dive into Day 3, let's start with a quick recap of Day 2. Yesterday our cyber campers spent the day exploring Windows 11, learning how the operating system works, navigating system settings, and getting their first real exposure to Command Prompt and PowerShell. They learned that cybersecurity isn't just about knowing commands—it's about understanding how technology works beneath the surface. But before the day officially bega

Building Cyber Heroes and Defending Windows 11 Like Vikings Day 2 of the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Standard Camp was packed with creativity, cybersecurity, and plenty of hands-on learning. We started the morning by revisiting the challenge I gave campers at the end of Day 1. Using the skills they learned during our AI session, students were tasked with creating their own cyber hero. Their mission was to design: A hero name A mission Unique powers A cyber threat they

From Thunderstorms to Cyber Awareness, AI, and Digital Defense ⚡🛡️ The first day of the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Standard Camp has officially concluded, and it was an exciting start to an incredible week of learning. The day began with a literal storm as thunder and rain rolled through the area while campers arrived eager to explore the world of cybersecurity. Despite the weather, the energy and enthusiasm of our students were stronger than ever. This year's camp b

Part Four: The Cyber Forge — Turning Code into Legend ⚡🔥⚡🔥⚡🔥⚡🔥⚡🔥⚡⚡🔥⚡🔥⚡🔥⚡🔥 Every build reaches a moment where “it works” just isn’t enough. Parts One through Three gave us the foundation: We explored the idea. We built the command. We made it reliable but now it’s time to make it ours. This final chapter is where function meets personality—where a simple command-line tool becomes something fun, interactive, and worthy of the longship. For me, that meant bringing in a

Part Three: Turning Commands into a Working Cyber Viking Weather Console By now, the mission was clear. I had my tool: cURL I had my objective: pull weather into Command Prompt. Now, I needed a worthy data source—something built for the terminal, not the soft comforts of a web browser. That’s when I discovered something that felt like it belonged in a Viking longhouse of code: wttr.in Discovering the Right Tool for the Job After digging through articles, testing commands, a

Part Two: Calling the Weather from the Command Line This wasn’t really about the weather it was about curiosity and building something useful. About taking a simple need and turning it into something hands-on. So I shifted gears… and went full Cyber Viking. 🔥🖥️ Build with Purpose ⚔️────────────────────────⚔️ Discovering the Right Tool After some research, I landed on a tool that sits quietly on most systems— but carries serious power: cURL If you’ve never used it before

⚔️ Part 1: Forged at Home — When Purpose Becomes the Project Some of the most meaningful cyber projects do not begin with code. They begin with a need. This one did not start in a classroom, a lab, or a competition setting. It started at home, with my family. All of my sons have autism, and one of them has a deep and focused curiosity about two things: weather and time. Not in a casual way, but in the kind of way that turns simple questions into daily exploration. He does no

Every Cyber Viking journey begins with a mission—but the best ones become something more. This trip from San Antonio to San Angelo wasn’t just about cybersecurity… it was about people, connections, and the human side of the cyber world. And this time, I had an awesome travel companion riding shotgun for part of the journey— the Cookie Maiden —making the road trip even better (and yes… helping make sure we didn’t miss any great food stops along the way 😄). 🚗 The Journey Begi

Every October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month unites individuals, organizations, and communities to bolster defenses against evolving cyber threats. This period emphasizes proactive cybersecurity education for ourselves, our families, and colleagues, highlighting the importance of awareness and preparedness in our tech-reliant world. Throughout the month, initiatives like workshops and webinars promote cybersecurity best practices, equipping individuals with the tools to comba

Most people have a favorite season. Here in Texas, a lot of folks can’t wait for football season—whether it’s Friday night lights,...

The Summer of Cyber 2025 came to an end on Friday, July 18th, and what a whirlwind of excitement, education, and empowerment it was! Over...

Our Camp Slogan This summer, in the heart of San Antonio at St. Mary’s University, I had the incredible opportunity to lead two...

After years of talking about it (and a few polite nudges from my wife), I finally made it happen— the official Cyber Viking website is...