Circadence's Project Ares Chosen as Premier Gamified Environment for Wicked6 Cyber Games

BOULDER, Colo. - May 28, 2019 - PRLog -- Circadence Corporation (http://www.circadence.com/) announced that its gamified cyber learning platform, Project Ares, has been chosen as the premier gamified environment for the upcoming Wicked6 Cyber Games (https://wicked6.com/). Competitors will use the platform to demonstrate their cutting-edge cyber skills during the Wicked6 Grand Finale in Las Vegas, which will be held at the HyperX Esports Arena on Thursday, August 8, 2019. This will be the first live cyber esports fundraising event of its kind benefiting women and girls' hacker camps.  The competitors will be co-ed teams from colleges and universities across North America.

The Wicked6 fundraiser and exhibition invites cybersecurity professionals from around the world to experience live cyber competitions as a player, sponsor, or avid fan. Circadence (http://www.circadence.com/) is aligned with the event's goals: to raise funds for the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu for cybersecurity training of women and girls, as well as to demonstrate how cyber games are as exciting as physical sports. This cyber competition will raise awareness of cybersecurity skills and careers and also aligns with the recent executive order (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive...) to increase this country's cyber workforce.

"Circadence is excited to show young people that learning cyber can and should be a dynamic experience and will help them advance their careers," says Keenan Skelly, Vice President of Global Partnerships at Circadence. "We believe that this competition will demonstrate this in two ways: by staging a unique event that will entertain competitors, sponsors and audiences alike, and by benefiting programs for women and girls who will be an important factor in closing the cyber skills gap while more effectively diversifying the workforce," she adds.

Wicked6 (https://wicked6.com/) chose Project Ares as the cybersecurity team competition platform due to its immersive, gamified environment. It takes cyber skill exercises out of the classroom and into  real-world cyberattack scenarios inspired by real-life breaches and threats. An industry-leading,  cloud-based, patented cyber range, Project Ares is designed for any skill-level cyber professional to grow competencies in cybersecurity governance, offense, and defense. Leading up to the Grand Finale in Las Vegas, competitors will practice and qualify in battle room exercises to hone specific skill sets aligned to NICE/NIST Framework (https://niccs.us-cert.gov/workforce-development/cyber-security-workforce-framework) that underpins the new White House Executive Order about cybersecurity workforce development (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-americas-cybersecurity-workforce/). They will also be able to access missions, full-scale cybersecurity scenarios designed for individuals and teams to problem-solve system issues in various settings from banks, to hospital networks, to water treatment plants.

"One of the primary objectives of the Wicked6 games is to demonstrate how competing in cyber ranges builds player skills that directly map to abilities that corporate recruiters are looking for," said Mari Galloway, CEO of the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu. "The Circadence platform provides the perfect environment for gamifying cybersecurity missions and outputting a numerous metrics illustrating how individual players and teams have performed their tasks and achieved their goals."

The competition will kick off in May 2019 with eager, collegiate cyber teams competing for a chance to show off their skills in a live, Grand Finale event. The top six elite teams after the qualifying round will go head-to-head during the live event onstage in Las Vegas.

The Wicked6 live competition will also be streamed on social media sites such as Twitch and YouTube streaming, and a live Twitter feed. For more information, visit https://wicked6.com/about/.

About Circadence

Circadence Corporation is a market leader in next-generation cybersecurity readiness. Powered by a culture of innovation and the demands of an evolving cyber landscape, Circadence offers award-winning cyber range solutions and cybersecurity learning platforms, running on Microsoft Azure, that leverage artificial intelligence and custom content to address critical security challenges for enterprise, government and academic institutions. Circadence's solutions deliver persistent, immersive and true-to-life experiences that match and adapt to contemporary threat environments. For more information, visit www.circadence.com.