“Congratulations to United States Naval Academy team for winning this year’s NCX! All of the cyber warriors and leaders who competed in this year’s competition, represent our Nation’s next generation of cyber talent,” Diane M. Janosek, NSA’s Lead Training Instructor and Commandant of the National Cryptologic School, NSA’s core learning institution.

The National Security Agency today announced that the United States Naval Academy is the winner of the 2021 NSA Cyber Exercise (NCX). More than 200 women and men participated from the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Norwich University, Texas A&M University, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, University of North Georgia and NSA’s development programs in the three-day competition designed to develop and test cybersecurity skills. This year’s exercise was held virtually April 8-10, 2021.

During this year’s exercise, cadets, midshipmen and students engaged with NSA personnel to execute and evaluate cyber mission strategies and complete cyber operation scenarios in real-time. Exercise scenarios included challenges that tested their skillset in forensics, cyber policy, cryptography, reverse engineering as well as attack-and-defend cyber exercise.

NSA’s NCX is a year-round cyber education program culminating with an unclassified exercise designed to reinforce the learning principles gained in the classroom. NCX provides an integrated program at the undergraduate level that helps to advance strategic cybersecurity through education and training to develop and test cybersecurity skills, teamwork, planning, communication, and decision making.