Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane | The cybersecurity classroom at Fayette County's Hub for Innovative Learning &...... read more read more
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Soldiers from the Kentucky National Guard Cyber Resilience Initiative (KYNG-CRI) visited students in Lexington to demonstrate real-world cybersecurity concepts and explore cyber career path opportunities in the Guard, Sept. 17-18, 2025.
U.S. Army Capt. Kelli Ryan, cyber exercise planning officer, and Staff Sgt. Billy Penley, cyber capabilities developer, partnered with the cybersecurity program at Fayette County’s Hub for Innovative Learning & Leadership – commonly referred to as ‘The HILL.’ Over the course of two days, Ryan and Penley worked with approximately 50 students to show how cyber concepts could be applied to real-world scenarios, and the opportunities that exist for cyber professionals in the Guard.
Students learned about the Guard's mission, what Soldiers do, and about the different cyber careers in the KYNG for enlisted personnel, officers, and warrant officers. Ryan also spoke to students about the mission of KYNG-CRI, ongoing efforts to build statewide partnerships to enhance cyber capabilities across the state, and supporting communities through teaching, training, and assisting in cyber defense tactics.
“We live in a time when nearly everyone has access to the internet,” said Ryan. “Whenever something becomes public-facing, malicious actors are a click away from exploiting it. The Cyber Resilience Initiative is working to help make Kentucky more cyber-secure.”
Penley also took the students through a demonstration, showing how hackers can find and exploit vulnerabilities in servers, emphasizing the importance of keeping systems updated.
The demonstration included an outdated game server, which exposed a vulnerability that could be targeted by an attacker. Students learned indicators of compromised networks, how to identify them, and how to defend against them.
“Today's students are entering a cyber threat landscape previous generations didn't face,” said Penley. “Demonstrating a real-world example, like exploiting an outdated game server creates an impactful learning experience. These young people represent the future of our cyber workforce, and this early interaction is a vital opportunity to cultivate their skills and interest in cybersecurity."
Bryan Quillen, cybersecurity instructor at The HILL, also expressed the relevance for his students.
“Students were able to see the importance of software updates as an outdated Minecraft server was hacked,” said Quillen. “The attack combined their knowledge of malware, command line, and query language showing that what we’re learning in class is really preparing them for the real world.”
The HILL specializes in career and technical education and offers three pathways – technical trades and public service, advanced technology and engineering, and healthcare and human services. The school serves more than 1,000 students from across the district, preparing students for an increasingly competitive workforce by developing transferable skills through experiential learning that, in many cases, leads to dual college credit or industry certifications.
As the Guard transforms to meet the challenges of multi-domain operations, KYNG-CRI emphasizes that cybersecurity is becoming increasingly more important. By working with schools, KYNG-CRI hopes to educate students and encourage them to pursue careers in the field to make Kentucky more cyber-secure.
The KYNG-CRI continues to broaden outreach and build partnerships in communities to increase awareness of National Guard cyber capabilities and foster cybersecurity preparedness. Through partnering with academic, government, and private organizations, as well as partner nations, the team builds trust and shares cyber capabilities to reduce risk to our state before, during, or after a cyberattack.
KYNG-CRI will partner in November with Murray State University and the University of Louisville for Cyber Bluegrass, leveraging partnerships and resources across public and private entities to establish a framework for cyber-related disaster preparedness and response across the region.
| Date Taken: | 09.25.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2025 12:51 |
| Story ID: | 549300 |
| Location: | KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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