CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Advanced Camp – Day 4

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 malicious processes, and learned to approach cybersecurity like professional defenders.

Little did they know that Day 4 would begin somewhere completely unexpected...

🚀 A Surprise Stop on the Summer of Cyber Tour

Before arriving at the CyberTexas Foundation Advanced Camp, I made an unexpected stop at Summer of Cyber Event #9—the WEX Foundation AI Space Coding Summer Camp.

It was a fantastic opportunity to see another group of students developing STEM skills through hands-on engineering and programming challenges.

The campers are currently participating in two exciting missions.

🛰️ Mission 1: Airlock Access Control

Students are designing and programming an International Space Station-inspired security system using Arduino microcontrollers, keypads, servo motors, buzzers, and onboard memory. Their projects authenticate authorized crew members, detect unauthorized access attempts, and automatically secure the airlock during simulated emergencies.

🚀 Mission 2: Launch Window Controller

Students are building a two-player launch controller that measures reaction time down to the millisecond, simulating the split-second decision making required during a spacecraft launch. Using Arduino programming, LEDs, buttons, and LCD displays, teams compete to earn the title of Mission Commander while learning embedded systems engineering and programming concepts.

It was inspiring to see the creativity, teamwork, and excitement throughout the classroom.

Then Kat decided to have a little fun...

She introduced me to the campers, talked briefly about the CyberPatriot Advanced Camp I was leading, and challenged everyone to see what they could discover about me online.

Within seconds...

💻 Click... click... click...

⌨️ Tap... tap... tap...

The room erupted into a frenzy of keyboard activity as students searched the Internet.

Almost immediately, hands shot into the air.

"I found his website!"

"I found Cyber Like A Viking!"

"I found his CyberPatriot team!"

"I found his LinkedIn!"

Watching the students use research skills and open-source intelligence techniques to learn more about my background was both entertaining and rewarding. Their enthusiasm reminded me just how naturally curious young people are when they're presented with a challenge.

I also enjoyed learning more about everything the WEX Foundation students are accomplishing through their AI Space Coding curriculum.

A heartfelt thank you to Kat for inviting me to visit the camp. I truly enjoyed meeting your students, seeing the incredible projects they're building, and sharing a little about my own cybersecurity journey. I appreciate the opportunity, and I look forward to working together again in the future.

🛡️ Back to CyberPatriot Camp

After visiting WEX, it was time to head back and continue Day 4 of the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Advanced Camp.

And where did we begin?

Exactly where we left off.

🔎 Hunting Down That Pesky Backdoor

We started the morning with a quick review of Microsoft Sysinternals Process Explorer, reinforcing the investigative techniques students learned on Day 3.

The demo Windows image still contained a hidden backdoor.

The students already knew how to locate suspicious processes.

Now they needed to prove they could find them again.

We discussed process relationships, executable paths, parent-child processes, and why defenders should investigate before terminating anything.

Threat hunting isn't about guessing.

It's about gathering evidence.

Following the Network Trail with TCPView

Once students understood what was running on a system, we shifted our attention to something equally important:

What is communicating?

That led us into another Sysinternals tool...

TCPView.

Students learned how TCPView provides a real-time look at active TCP and UDP connections, listening ports, remote endpoints, and the processes responsible for those communications.

We discussed:

🌐 TCP vs. UDP

📡 Well-known ports

🔗 Established connections

👂 Listening ports

⚠️ Suspicious outbound communications

🔍 Identifying which process owns each network connection

Of course...

No networking lesson would be complete without a visit from everyone's

favorite crocheted Viking.

⚔️ Harald Explains TCP and UDP

Harald the Bluetooth proudly volunteered to demonstrate the difference between TCP and UDP.

Harald explained it the only way a Viking could.

⚓ TCP is like sending an important Viking scroll.

The messenger makes sure it arrives.

The receiver confirms it was delivered.

If something gets lost...

It gets sent again.

Reliable.

Accurate.

Orderly.

Exactly what you want for web browsing, email, and file transfers.

Meanwhile...

🏹 UDP is more like launching arrows during battle.

You fire them quickly.

You don't wait to see if every arrow lands.

Speed matters more than perfection.

Perfect for streaming, gaming, voice communications, and other real-time applications.

Needless to say...

Harald received a few laughs while making networking protocols much easier to understand.

🌕 From Cyberspace to the Moon

The learning continued when Kat from the WEX Foundation came to visit our CyberPatriot campers.

She immediately had everyone's attention.

Without saying much, she walked to the whiteboard and wrote a math problem.

Then she asked,

"Who can solve it?"

The room instantly shifted into problem-solving mode.

Once the students worked through the challenge, Kat connected the mathematics to one of today's exciting engineering problems:

How can we create materials that could be used to build landing pads on the Moon?

She explained the engineering challenges of lunar exploration, why spacecraft landing surfaces are important, and how mathematics, engineering, and science all come together when designing solutions for future Moon missions.

The students were completely engaged.

It was another great reminder that STEM disciplines don't exist in isolation. Mathematics, engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, and space exploration all work together to solve some of humanity's biggest challenges.

Kat, thank you again for taking time away from your own campers to spend part of your day with ours. Your enthusiasm for mathematics, engineering, and space exploration inspired our students and showed them just how exciting STEM careers can be.

Learning Linux from CyberPatriot Veterans

After our journey to the Moon...

It was time to return to Earth.

Or perhaps more accurately...

It was time to return to Linux.

Instead of teaching this section myself, I decided to let experience become the instructor.

I invited the four students who have previously competed in CyberPatriot as Linux specialists to come to the front of the room.

Armed with dry-erase markers, they filled the whiteboard with the Linux commands they rely on during competitions.

They explained:

• How they inspect users and groups.

• How they investigate services.

• How they examine running processes.

• How they search for unauthorized files.

• How they verify permissions.

• How they navigate the Linux file system efficiently.

Watching experienced competitors teach newer students was one of my favorite moments of the week.

Peer-to-peer instruction creates a different kind of learning environment. The newer students weren't just hearing commands from an instructor—they were hearing directly from teammates who had already faced CyberPatriot competition images and understood what works under pressure.

Those conversations may prove invaluable when these students compete in the future.

🛡️ Threat Hunting in the Real World

To conclude Day 4, we welcomed Mr. David Webb, who tied together the entire week's theme:

Threat Hunting.

Rather than focusing on competition images, Mr. Webb showed students how these same concepts apply every day in professional cybersecurity.

He discussed:

🌍 Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)

⚡ Protecting critical infrastructure

🏭 Defending industrial systems

🛡️ Nation-state cyber threats

🔍 Why threat hunting is essential for modern defenders

Most importantly, he showed students that the skills they have been practicing all week—investigating systems, identifying suspicious behavior, analyzing network activity, and thinking critically—are the very same skills used by professionals protecting our nation's critical infrastructure and cyberspace every day.

Thank you, Mr. Webb, for sharing your educational journey, your professional experiences, and your passion for cybersecurity with our campers. Your presentation helped students see how today's classroom lessons become tomorrow's mission-critical responsibilities.

⚔️ Stronger Together

Day 4 was a perfect example of what makes the CyberTexas Foundation CyberPatriot Advanced Camp so special.

In one day, our students explored embedded systems engineering, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, networking, mathematics, space exploration, Linux, threat hunting, and critical infrastructure protection.

Just as importantly, they learned from professionals and educators who are passionate about inspiring the next generation.

A heartfelt thank you to Kat and the WEX Foundation and Mr. David Webb for generously sharing your time, knowledge, and experiences with our campers. By exposing students to different STEM and cybersecurity career paths, you helped broaden their understanding of the incredible opportunities that await them. Every conversation, every lesson, and every story helps these young learners envision themselves as the engineers, cybersecurity professionals, researchers, and technology leaders of tomorrow.

As we head into our final day of camp, one thing is certain...

These students are no longer simply learning about cybersecurity.

They are learning to think critically.

They are learning to solve problems.

They are learning to work as a team.

And they are learning what it truly means to...

⚔️ CYBER LIKE A VIKING! ⚔️