21-000002175 Preparing Cyber Warfare Professionals by Integration of Curriculum, Experiences, and Internships
Abstract
A key element of the U.S. military in helping maintain superiority is the engineering support to conduct information warfare. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) provides such capability to the U.S. Navy as well as to the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guards. Cybersecurity along with network and communications are essential domains to attain effective informationwarfare. One of the main challenges of the military is recruiting talent for such specialties. University of South Carolina (USC) will lead this project to address the IT talent gap. USC will work with South Carolina State University (SCSU) and University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The team will be advised by the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic, one of the two centers ofNAVWAR.The project has three objectives: 1) Advance formal and informal cyber communities and connect relevant organizations. 2) Develop a multi-state internship program, leveraging and strengthening the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP). 3) Expand the Academic Cloud to support large-scale learning and research nationwide. For objective 1, the project will incorporate hands-on curriculum material. USC, SCSU, and UTSA will provide: training and research experience for Navy, Army, and Air Force ROTC communities, and for veterans and STEM students interested in domains relevant to the DoN and DoD (e.g., cybersecurity, network and communications); professional development events for advanced communities of practice (COP): Engagement and Performance Operations Center(EPOC) / ESnet and Internet2 COPs; and access to self-paced training suitable for the U.S. National Guard and general public. For objective 2, the project will expand the NREIP to other agencies and organizations, including NIWC, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), and cyber / IT organizations. The project will organize pre-internship seminars during fall and spring semesters, where speakers will meet weekly with students. Seminars will help students to network with internship providers, match them according to their preferred areas of interest, and secure positions to conduct the 400-hour internship during the summer. For objective 3, the project will develop new virtual lab libraries and deploy them in the Academic Cloud. The latter is a platform built for hands-on education and research. Libraries will cover state-of-the-art technologies such as programmable data planes (PDPs) and material aligned with DoD#s 8570 baseline certificates. PDPs provide granular visibility of events occurring in the cyber space at nanosecond resolution and can detect cyber-attacks faster than traditional devices. Baseline certificates validate IT and cyber skills to access certaincareer opportunities.Academic programs at USC, SCSU, and UTSA will impact over 450 students who will graduate with skills relevant to the DoN and DoD, including veterans, ROTC cadets, and STEM students in general. Since the newmaterial will become permanent, the impact will grow over time. The undergraduate research experience will permit nearly 100 students to conduct research on practical problems for NIWC and cyber / IT organizations. The workshops organized with EPOC and Internet2 will train over 1,500 professionals currently working for organizations such as national laboratories, campus networks, and enterprises. Open access to the Academic Cloud and virtual lab libraries will enable self-paced training to over 200 military personnel from the National Guard/Cyber and Information Advantage Battalion (CIAB), and to thousands of learners from colleges across the country. The internship program will serve approximately 300 interns who will contribute to relevant projects while receiving mentoring from top professionals. The project activities will be conducted by USC, which is in the top 3% of four-year institutions for the number of African American graduates; SCSU,an HBCU; and UTSA, an HSI.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2023
- Source ID
- N000142312245
Entities
People
- Jorge Crichigno
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of South Carolina