USM Gets Grant to Develop Cyber Warfare Curricula for National Guard

/in


To fortify its commitment as a leader in cybersecurity education and training, The University of Southern Mississippi will use a $1.5 million Department of Labor grant to develop new cyber warfare curricula for students, faculty, and U.S. Army National Guard soldiers.

The INtegrated Cyber Instructor Training Ecosystem (IN-CITE) grant’s key objectives include:

  • Determining what skills the workforce requires to act as creative adversaries in cyber exercises.
  • Creating curricula for cyber warfare training exercises.
  • Engaging academic, military, non-military government, and industry partners as an Advisory Council to sustain advanced training content and delivery methods.

Dr. Henry Jones, Director of Research Development and Scientific Entrepreneurship at USM, will serve as Principal Investigator for the grant. He emphasizes that cybersecurity today is best addressed by an understanding that the only constant in this highly consequential field is rapid change.

“We sought this grant because through our long-term relationship with the National Guard and Camp Shelby, we saw how difficult it can be to keep soldiers up-to-date with the rapid changes in cybersecurity issues; how important it is for their personal and operational security to be educated, and that USM has cybersecurity experts nearby who have the knowledge that would make a difference,” said Jones.

Funding for this innovative training grant will be provided over a three-year period. USM’s School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering (CSCE) will develop the new curricula. Last July, USM received the designation as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Defense (CAE-CD). The prestigious honor is earned via a program established by The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

“The CAE-CD designation acknowledges the contributions of our faculty to curriculum rigor, research activity, and public and private sector collaborations in cybersecurity,” said Lee. “This recognition highlights USM’s leadership in traditional and non-traditional cybersecurity education in the state. On behalf of the USM School of Computer Science and Computer Engineering, I am excited to be…

Source…