CAE in Cybersecurity Community

What CAE in Cybersecurity Community does

The CAE in Cybersecurity Community is a federally-funded academic consortium that coordinates a national network of more than 490 educational institutions holding cybersecurity designations from the NSA's National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) program. Founded in 1999 and administered through California State University, San Bernardino under Department of War grant HQ0034251E002, the community serves K-12 students, college students, educators, federal agencies, and industry employers as the operational backbone of the U.S. cybersecurity workforce development pipeline. Its primary purpose is to validate cybersecurity academic programs, deliver free cyber education resources, and connect educational pipelines directly to federal agencies and private-sector employers.

The community's technology stack is built on a Wix Studio-based website (caecommunity.org) that integrates third-party calendar, forms, and analytics tools, and hosts or links to a portfolio of specialized platforms: the XP Cyber Range (1M+ student hours, mapped to DoD DCWF, NICE Framework, and NCAE-C Knowledge Units), the CLARK curriculum platform (free reusable videos, labs, and slides at clark.center), and CLAIR, an AI companion in early development. Supporting tools include the CAE Institution Map, Career Explorer, Cyber Atlas competition directory, Virtual Career Fair platform, and Discord community (NCAE Cyber Games). Programs span K-12 (GenCyber, RING, CHI), collegiate (NCAE Cyber Games, INSuRE research collaboration), teacher development (NCTA graduate certificate), and scholarships (DoD Cyber Service Academy, NSF SFS).

Revenue mechanics are entirely non-commercial: the community operates as a grant-funded initiative under the DoW Cyber Academic Engagement Office, with supplementary funding from NSF and NICE. All programs and resources are offered free of charge to students, educators, and institutions, with no membership or participation fees. Go-to-market is community-led—growth is driven by NSA program mandates, peer referrals among designated schools, federal partner referrals (CISA, DoD, NSF, NICE), and the annual symposium cycle. Customer concentration on the user side is highly distributed across 490+ institutions and tens of thousands of students; on the funder side, it is moderately concentrated in the DoW grant as the core revenue instrument.

Name

CAE in Cybersecurity Community

Legal name

CAE in Cybersecurity Community

Website

https://caecommunity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The CAE in Cybersecurity Community is a federally-funded academic consortium coordinating 490+ NSA-designated cybersecurity institutions across the U.S., delivering free cyber education programs—XP Cyber Range, CLARK curriculum, competitions, and career tools—to develop the national cybersecurity workforce pipeline.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Education

NAICS

Computer Training (61142)

akta.pro primary industry

Cybersecurity (General) (EDAOAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cybersecurity Learning Platforms (EDAFANAF), Information Technology (IT) & Cybersecurity Certifications (EDAAANAA), Cybersecurity (EDAAAPAC), Cybersecurity Training & Awareness Programs (BPAEANAF), Penetration Testing, Red Team & Ethical Hacking (EDAOAIAH), Digital Assessment Platforms & Computer-Based Testing Authorities (EDADAFAK)

Keywords

• Cybersecurity education
• Academic cyber ranges
• Cyber workforce development
• K-12 cybersecurity programs
• Cybersecurity competitions

Headquarters

HQ city

San Bernardino

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Grant Funding: The CAE in Cybersecurity Community is funded by National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity grant HQ0034251E002 under the DoW Cyber Academic Engagement Office. The community does not charge fees to member institutions and operates as a nonprofit grant-funded initiative.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The CAE in Cybersecurity Community is a federally funded academic consortium that operates a portfolio of free cybersecurity education programs and platforms for U.S. designated institutions, students, and educators. Its core offerings include an academic cyber range (XP Cyber), a reusable curriculum platform (CLARK), competitions, teacher development programs, K-12 pathways, and a national virtual career fair that together build the U.S. cybersecurity workforce pipeline.

Product overview

The CAE in Cybersecurity Community is a network of educational institutions holding CAE-C designations from the NSA's NCAE-C program. The community operates a portfolio of interconnected cybersecurity education products: a curriculum platform (CLARK) with an AI companion in development (CLAIR), cyber ranges and workforce challenge platforms (XP Cyber), collegiate and K-12 competition programs (NCAE Cyber Games, GenCyber, CAE Competitions Atlas), teacher development programs (CHI, NCTA), online courses (RING), career exploration tools (Career Explorer), and virtual career fairs. These products serve students from K-12 through college, educators, and institutions seeking CAE designation, working together to develop the US cybersecurity workforce pipeline.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CLARK (Cybersecurity Labs and Resource Knowledge-Base) A free cybersecurity curriculum platform offering videos, labs, and slides that are reusable and modifiable, hosted at clark.center for educators and students at CAE-designated institutions.
• XP Cyber Range An academic cyber range delivering real-world cybersecurity workforce challenges to students and educators across the United States through immersive virtual environments and business scenarios, mapped to DoD Cyber Workforce Framework, NICE Framework, and NCAE-C Knowledge Units.
• NCAE Cyber Games A collegiate cybersecurity competition designed for students who have never competed before, focused on teamwork, building confidence, and growing skills, administered by Mohawk Valley Community College.
• INSuRE (Information Security Research & Education) A collaborative cybersecurity research program connecting government agencies, national labs, and FFRDCs with CAE institutions to provide students real-world applied research problems, led by Stevens Institute of Technology.
• CHI (Cybersecurity High School Innovations) A teacher development program preparing high school educators to instruct cybersecurity courses and run afterschool competition clubs, with three-year curriculum tracks, administered by City University of Seattle.
• RING (Regions Investing in the Next Generation) A free online foundational cybersecurity course for high school students and schools without existing programs, offering full academic year and single semester options, led by the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
• NCTA (National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy) A program preparing qualified teachers through a 12-18 credit hour graduate certificate in cybersecurity education, offered virtually through partner universities.
• Career Explorer An interactive tool providing comprehensive cybersecurity job data nationwide with direct access to employment opportunities across states and sectors.
• Virtual Career Fair An annual virtual career fair co-hosted by the NCyTE Center and the CAE Community, connecting students and alumni from designated institutions with employers seeking cyber talent.
• CAE Cyber Competitions Atlas A comprehensive directory of cybersecurity challenges and competitions allowing users to search for events based on desired criteria.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 490 institutions hold CAE-C designations, making the community the largest network of validated cybersecurity programs in the U.S.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, moderate and minor.

• National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Program Management Office (NCAE-C PMO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NCAE-C PMO, managed by the National Cryptologic School at the NSA, oversees the CAE-C designation program, sets curriculum standards, and manages the peer review process. The CAE Community operates under grant HQ0034251E002 from the DoW Cyber Academic Engagement Office in support of the NCAE-C PMO's mission.
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCISA fosters the growth of the CAE program as part of outreach to states and local communities. CISA manages the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) and offers free online cybersecurity education through the Federal Virtual Training Environment (VTE). CISA also co-supports Try Cyber, providing micro-challenge content for students.
• Department of War Chief Information Officer (DoW CIO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DoW CIO administers the Cyber Academic Engagement Office, which funds the CAE in Cybersecurity Community through grant HQ0034251E002. The DoW CIO also manages the DoW Cyber Service Academy (CSA) scholarship program for students at CAE-designated institutions.
• National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNICE, part of NIST in the Department of Commerce, focuses on closing the cybersecurity workforce hiring gap. The Annual CAE Community Symposium is supported by a NICE grant. The NICE Challenge Project, funded by NICE and NSA College of Cyber, develops real-world cybersecurity tasks mapped to the NICE Framework, similar to XP Cyber challenges. CAE-CD Knowledge Units are mapped to the NICE Framework.
• National Science Foundation (NSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NSF funds projects that generate knowledge about effective cybersecurity education, re-skill workers, increase workforce diversity, and build collaborations between educational institutions and government. NSF co-manages the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, which awards scholarships to students at CAE-designated institutions in exchange for government service.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe FBI serves as a strategic advisor for the Cyber Operations Program, participates in training conferences and symposia, co-sponsors events, provides subject matter expertise in application reviews, participates in the Summer Intern Program, and assigns technical liaisons to CAE-CO universities through the NSA CAE partnership initiative.
• Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerONCD collaborates with the NCAE-C program to advance national cybersecurity workforce development goals and policies.
• National Cybersecurity Training and Education (NCyTE) CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCyTE Center (based at Whatcom Community College) co-hosts the annual National Cybersecurity Virtual Career Fair with the CAE in Cybersecurity Community, connecting students and alumni from CAE-designated institutions with employers seeking cyber talent.
• California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSUSB administers the CAE Community National Center grant and leads the XP Cyber initiative as Principal Investigator institution. XP Cyber's Principal Investigator is Dr. Vincent Nestler; Co-PI is Dr. Tony Coulson. CSUSB has been a CAE-CD designated institution since 2008.
• Mohawk Valley Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMohawk Valley Community College is the leading institution for the NCAE Cyber Games national competition, hosting the tournament that culminates in an in-person grand finals event for college students new to cybersecurity competitions.
• Stevens Institute of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStevens Institute of Technology is the leading institution for the INSuRE (INformation Security Research & Education) program, which connects government agencies and national labs with CAE student teams for applied cybersecurity research projects through two tracks: INSuRE+E (Education) and INSuRE+C (Collaborative for CAE-R institutions).
• University of Alabama in HuntsvillemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Alabama in Huntsville is the leading institution for the RING (Regions Investing in the Next Generation) K-12 pathway program, offering a free online foundational cybersecurity course for high school students and schools without existing programs.
• City University of SeattlemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity University of Seattle is the leading institution for CHI (Cybersecurity High School Innovations), a teacher development program preparing high school teachers to instruct cybersecurity courses and run afterschool competition clubs. CHI partner institutions include University of Washington Bothell, University of Idaho – Idaho Falls, Regis University Colorado, Dakota State University, North Dakota State University, University of Arizona, Great Falls College, and University of Montana Missoula.
• University of Arkansas at Little RockcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock is a lead institution for the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy (NCTA), offering a 12–18 credit hour graduate certificate to prepare qualified cybersecurity teachers. UA Little Rock has been a CAE-CD since 2008 and also offers a BS in Cybersecurity, Advanced Cybersecurity Technical Certificate, and Cybersecurity Fundamentals Certificate.
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPI, a CAE-R designated institution since 2013, is the newest CAE institution offering the NCTA program as part of the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy partner network.
• GenCyber Program (NSA)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe GenCyber program, managed by the NSA, provides free cybersecurity summer camp experiences for K-12 students and teachers. The CAE Community promotes and connects K-12 audiences with GenCyber programs available nationwide.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• TryHackMe: Subscription-based hands-on cybersecurity learning platform used heavily by students new to cyber; competes for the same entry-level learner audience as XP Cyber, Try Cyber, and NCAE Cyber Games.
• Hack The Box: Enterprise and consumer cybersecurity upskilling platform with labs and academies used by universities; overlaps with XP Cyber Range and academic cyber training initiatives.
• OffSec (Offensive Security): Provider of OSCP and other hands-on penetration testing certifications with dedicated academic and enterprise learning tracks; competes for the advanced cyber practitioner audience served by CAE-CO programs.
• Cybrary: Online cybersecurity skills development platform with team and individual training paths, free tier content, and career pathway tools aimed at the same workforce development market as CAE Community resources.

Broad incumbents

• (ISC)²: Global nonprofit administering the CISSP and other cybersecurity certifications, with extensive workforce development programs (e.g., One Million Certified in Cybersecurity initiative) targeting the same entry-to-mid-level cyber talent pool.
• EC-Council: Provider of Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and other cybersecurity credentials, with a strong academic partner program (EC-Council Academia) that competes for the same college-level cybersecurity curriculum market.
• SANS Institute: Largest commercial cybersecurity training and certification provider, offering hands-on cyber ranges (NetWars), GIAC certifications, and workforce development programs that overlap directly with XP Cyber, CLARK, and CAE-C certification pathways.

Direct peers

• NCyTE Center: National Cybersecurity Training and Education Center based at Whatcom Community College; co-hosts the annual National Cybersecurity Virtual Career Fair with the CAE in Cybersecurity Community and operates as a parallel CAE-funded national center advancing cybersecurity education.
• NICCS (CISA National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies): Federal program that catalogs cybersecurity training providers and workforce resources; directly partners with CAE in Cybersecurity Community on Try Cyber micro-challenges and shares workforce development mission.
• CyberSeek: Cybersecurity career pathway mapping tool backed by NICE, CompTIA, and Burning Glass; provides interactive career data that overlaps with the CAE Community's Career Explorer tool.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/caecommunity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLr52AD7_I-GuW_HyMGc9sA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cae-in-cybersecurity-community
• Instagraminstagram.com/caeincybersecurity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CAE in Cybersecurity Community