Current & Future Cyber Students

From awards to competition rankings to speaking engagements, Lakota’s Cyber Academy for developing young talent in the field of cybersecurity is once again drawing national attention this school year.

Both Lakota East and Lakota West programs were ranked No. 4 and No. 12, respectively, in the pool of 400-plus high school cyber programs ranked by the National Cyber League (NCL) Fall 2023 Power Rankings. Both schools’ best performing teams also placed in the top two percent when up against the larger field of nearly 4,700 teams of college- and professional-level competitors.

Lakota West’s Cyber Academy students recently had the opportunity to discover more about one of the oldest modern encryption techniques, the Enigma machine.

The 60-pound machine was carried on the backs of soldiers during the war. Rotors in the machine scrambled the output alphabet by using one of the oldest, and still highly prominent, ciphers, the Caesar cipher.    

JOIN US on Tuesday, September 26^th for our annual Cyber Futures Night at 7:00pm at Lakota West High School. Open to all current or potential Lakota Cyber Academy Students, no registration required.

At its second annual Cyber Showcase, Lakota’s Cyber Academy celebrated the second cohort of students to pass through all three levels of cyber coursework offered at both high schools - and the impressive stack of awards and experiences they accumulated in the process. 

From awards to competition rankings to speaking engagements, Lakota’s high school Cyber Academy for developing young talent in the field of cybersecurity is drawing national attention this school year. 

The National Cyber League ranked Lakota East's program No. 1 in the nation, while one of East's teams placed fourth in the national pool of 482 high school cyber teams competing this fall. At a national conference, one of Lakota's cyber teachers accepted a top award from the U.S. Department of Education, while a Lakota West senior was recognized for his achievements and future plans at the National Cyber Signing Day event. Several Lakota staff and students represented Lakota on the national stage as presenters at the conference.