Wayne PattersonDirector of the Cybersecurity Research

Center

November 28, 2011

Howard University Cybersecurity Research

Center

Designation as a National Center of Excellence

In June of 2011, Howard University and its Cybersecurity Research Center were designated by the National Security Agency as a:

Cemter of Academic Excellence in Informance Assurance Education

Known as “CAE/IAE”

Howard joins about 125 four-year institutions with this designation: see http://www.nsa.gov/ia/academic_outreach/nat_cae/institutions.shtml

We will show what we had to demonstrate to gain this certification

… and what this will mean for Howard

Requirements to Meet

We had to demonstrate our capability in:

1. Outreach/Collaboration2. Center for Information Assurance (IA) Education3. IA Academic Program is Robust and Active4. IA as a Multidisciplinary Science5. Practice of IA Throughout the University6. Student-based IA Research7. Number of IA Faculty and Course Load8. Faculty Active in Current IA Practice and

Research

1. Outreach/Collaboration

a. Shared curriculum Created entire program at Voorhees

b. Reciprocity of credits With 34 institutions, including 12 MSIs

c. Sponsorship of workshops 4, two NSF-sponsored

d. CAE Collaboration Seminars at George Mason and Stevens

e. Community outreach

2. Center for IA Education

a. Formal documentation of designation Created by Provost Wyche

b. Hyperlink http://www.howard.edu/csl/index.htm

c. Web site is operational, dynamic, current d. IA journals available online

All ACM and IEEE available

e. Physical and/or virtual IA labs available Mathematica, Sage, WebGoat, Java

3. IA Academic Program is Robust and Active

Focus at the Bachelors level Concentration in MIS bachelor’s program (~6 yrs)

Focus at the Masters’ level Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (7 yrs)

Focus at the PhD level New PhD program in Computer Science approved

4. IA as a Multidisciplinary Science

Modules in non-IA Courses International Studies, Law (2), Psych, Business (n)

Non-IA Courses encourage papers Numerous referenced

5. Practice of IA Throughout the University

University IA security plan Provided

ISSO Provided

Implementation of security plan http://www.howard.edu/policy/technology/

computeruse.htm http://www.howard.edu/technology/faculty.htm http://www.howard.edu/technology/students.htm

6. Student-based IA Research

a. Student papers, theses, dissertations, projects 19 provided

b. List of courses that require such 5 provided

7. Number of IA Faculty and Course Load

a. Full-time faculty with leadership responsibilities Two

b. Additional full-time faculty with some IA Five

c. Shared faculty Nine

8. Faculty Active in Current IA Practice and Research

a. Peer reviewed publications 26 submitted

b. Published books or chapters 4 submitted

c. Grants/funding 13 submitted

D. Active in professional societies Cyberwatch, ACM, IEEE

E. Student IA programs One

F. Present at major conferences 10 submitted

What Will This Mean for Howard?

Now eligible for certain scholarship programs NSF SFS, IASP, IA Capacity Building

Collaboration urged with other CAEs Partnerships to date with Carnegie Mellon, George

Mason, New Orleans, Stevens, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Texas – El Paso

Helps in research proposal submissions

Openings to national intelligence agencies NSA, DHS, DOD, NSF, …