Cybersecurity Commons^™

Machine Learning Based Intrusion Detection Framework For Can Bus Vulnerabilities In Modern Vehicles, Obinna C. Agbo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Controller Area Network (CAN) bus is a crucial communication backbone in modern vehicles, connecting various Electronic Control Units (ECUs). However, inherent design weaknesses such as the lack of encryption and authentication make CAN networks vulnerable to cyber-attacks, including spoofing, Denial of Service (DoS), and fuzzing attacks. This thesis thoroughly evaluates these vulnerabilities and the limitations of existing security frameworks like Message Authentication Codes (MACs) and encryption, advocating for the adoption of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) as a more practical solution for CAN bus security. The proposed IDS leverages advanced machine learning techniques to accurately detect intrusions, even under complex …

A Critical Computing Curriculum Design Case: Exploring Tribal Sovereignty For Middle School Students, Kristin A. Searle, Aubrey Rogowski, Colby Tofel-Grehl, Mengying Jiang

Journal of Computer Science Integration

We report on our efforts to design an integrated computing curriculum for middle school students in Montana that is in line with the Kapor Center’s focus on culturally sustaining-revitalizing pedagogies. Montana provides a unique context for doing this work because a state constitutional mandate requires all K-12 students to learn about tribal histories and cultures through Indian Education For All (IEFA). IEFA centers around seven essential understandings about Indigenous peoples in Montana that are integrated across content areas. In addition, implementation of Montana’s CS standards began in the 2021–2022 school year. In the curricular design, we sought to bring together …

Employing An Abolitionist, Critical Race Pedagogy In Cs: Centering The Voices, Experiences And Technological Innovations Of Black Youth, Tiera Tanksley

Journal of Computer Science Integration

This paper proposes a pedagogical extension of culturally responsive praxis called abolitionist, critical race pedagogy in CS. To showcase the power and potentiality of this pedagogy, this paper examines the experiences of 2 cohorts of Black high school students (n = 30) who participated in a critical race technology course that was taught during the dual pandemic of COVID-19 and anti-Black racism. The goal of this summer course was to employ an abolitionist, critical race pedagogy in CS to foster Black students’ ability to critically examine the ubiquity of anti-Black racism within the socio-technical architectures (e.g. code, data, algorithms and …

Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Computational Thinking: Enactment In Elementary Classrooms, Victoria Macann, Aman Yadav

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Technology has increasingly permeated many aspects of everyday life and this evolution raises the need for individuals to understand how the digital world works and what opportunities and risks it brings (Nouri, Zhang, Mannila & Norén, 2019). For this to be an experience for everyone, we need to rethink how we integrate computational thinking (CT) and provide teachers with tools to center their students’ identities, experiences, and cultures in the classroom. In this paper, we present two case studies of primary (elementary) teachers from a full primary (student ages 5–13) semi-rural school in the North Island of New Zealand that …

Teacher Candidates’ Conceptions And Practices Of Computational Thinking For Equity, Heather F. Clark, Symone A. Gyles, Imelda Nava-Landeros

Journal of Computer Science Integration

This study documents novice science and math teachers’ developing pedagogical approaches to integrating computational thinking (CT) and data into their courses to support educational equity and social justice. The 10 novice teacher candidates (TCs) studied were part of an urban teacher residency program that empowered them with an asset-based pedagogy we describe as “CT for Equity.” Drawing on coursework and interviews as data, we asked three questions: What are teachers’ conceptions of CT? What are their CT instructional practices? And how did their students respond to those practices? To explore conceptions of CT, we used Kafai et al.’s (2020) articulation …

Asset-Based Approaches To Multilingual Students’ Computer Science Identity Development, Sharin Rawhiya Jacob, Mark Warschauer

Journal of Computer Science Integration

While computer science identity development has been examined in several studies, there is much to learn about the development of multilingual students’ computer science (CS) identities. To develop strong CS identities, multilingual students must engage in culturally and linguistically sustaining curriculum, pedagogy, and interaction that draws from their rich and varied resources. This theoretical paper is grounded in a justice-centered, asset-based framework that views the traditions and practices in students’ cultures and communities as strong contributors to knowledge construction in STEM. We draw on multiple studies exploring multilingual student CS identity development to better understand how their personal, familial, community-based, …

Wind River Elementary Computer Science Collaborative: Connecting Computer Science And Indigenous Identities And Knowledges On The Wind River Reservation, Joseph P. Wilson, Kathryn M. Rich, Jared O'Leary, Veronica Miller

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Three Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone–serving districts formed a researcher–practitioner partnership with the Wyoming Department of Education, the American Institutes for Research®, and BootUp Professional Development to advance the computer science (CS) education of their elementary students in ways that strengthen their Indigenous identities and knowledges. In this paper, we share experiences from 2019 to 2022 with our curriculum development, professional development (PD), and classroom implementation. The researcher–practitioner partnership developed student and teacher materials to support elementary CS lessons aligned to Wyoming’s CS standards and “Indian Education for All” social studies standards. Indigenous community members served as experts to codesign …

Near Peer Pedagogies For Culturally Sustaining Computer Science And Mathematics, Cliff Freeman, Eli Tucker-Raymond, Juan Gutierrez

Journal of Computer Science Integration

In this study, College STEM Literacy Workers act as co-teachers in 9th and 10th grade classrooms alongside mathematics teachers as they both learn to integrate a 30-hour integrated computer science/mathematics curriculum. As part of the curriculum for educator learning, we adapted the Algebra Project’s “Model of Excellence” for culturally relevant-sustaining pedagogies. We used the framework to explore how teachers understand College STEM Literacy Workers’ contributions in the model as well as College STEM Literacy Workers’ own experiences in the classroom. We found that while teachers and College STEM Literacy Workers did not individually instantiate the model of excellence, they were …

Designing An Equity-Centered Framework And Crosswalk For Integrated Elementary Computer Science Curriculum And Instruction, Carla Strickland, Andrea Ramírez-Salgado, Lauren Weisberg, Latoya Chandler, Jeanne Di Domenico, Elizabeth M. Lehman, Maya Israel

Journal of Computer Science Integration

As computer science (CS) education becomes more prevalent in K-12 instruction, it is critical for educators, researchers, and curriculum developers to identify culturally responsive and pedagogically inclusive approaches that can increase participation, access, and feelings of belonging for students from historically marginalized communities. In response, we developed an equity-centered curricular framework and illustrative crosswalk that synchronizes three distinct pedagogical approaches: culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and project-based learning (PBL). We describe the framework’s theoretical underpinnings and explain how this framework informed the development of an integrated elementary science+CS curricular unit and provide examples of its implementation. …

Comparing Boys’ And Girls’ Attitudes Toward Computer Science, Danielle Scott, Amiee Zou, Sharin Rawhiya Jacob, Debra Richardson, Mark Warschauer

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Women are severely underrepresented in computer science (CS) degrees and careers. While student interest is a key predictor of success, little is known about how elementary students from underserved groups, such as girls, develop their interest in CS. To address this issue, we examined the differences in attitudes between upper elementary girls and boys towards CS after participating in a yearlong, inquiry-based CS curriculum designed for diverse learners. Pre-and-post surveys on students’ attitudes towards CS (n = 108) were delivered before and after student participation in the curriculum. Results from the survey showed only two demonstrated significant differences between boys …

Examining Early Elementary Computer Science Identity Repertoires Within A Curriculum: Implications For Epistemologically Pluralistic Identities, Eleanor Richard, Shakhnoza Kayumova

Journal of Computer Science Integration

As computer science (CS) enters an increasing number of elementary classrooms, researchers must investigate the representations of what kinds of people are presented as doing computer science within CS curricula. In this paper, we explore a widely used, freely accessible, web-based, early elementary CS curriculum to examine the kinds of identity repertoires (behaviors, actions, skills, and socioemotional norms) that are promoted as representative of being/becoming a CS person. More specifically, we draw on identity studies and employ critical discourse analysis to examine how the kinds of norms and repertoires of CS practice made available in the curricular materials might construct …

Integrating Computing Into Preservice Teacher Preparation Programs Across The Core: Language, Mathematics, And Science, Lauren E. Margulieux, Patrick Enderle, Pier Junor Clarke, Natalie King, Caroline Sullivan, Michelle Zoss, Joyce Many

Journal of Computer Science Integration

This paper describes the beginning of a design-based research project for integrating computing activities in preservice teacher programs throughout a middle and secondary education department. Computing integration activities use computing tools, like programming, to support learning in non-computing disciplines. The paper begins with the motivation for integrating computing that encouraged widespread buy-in, design goals, and design parameters. The primary motivating factor for this work was preparing teachers to use technology to support learning in their classrooms. Involving computing education faculty in the preparation enabled the activities to include computer science and spread computational literacy. The paper also describes the process …

Artificial Intelligence (Ai): The New Look Of Customer Service In A Cybersecurity World, Sharon L. Burton

Publications

Cybersecurity leaders are not adequately developed to guide the re-engineering of quality customer service (QCS) workflows, designed with automation and AI, that interrelate with people through customers’ perceptions. Realizing re-engineering processes should be a team effort with well-versed leadership and stakeholders guiding the successful design through a follow-up process. Leaders must shape compelling and straightforward needs to learn and teach employees and chat boxes indispensable customer service skills demonstrating patience, self-discipline, flexibility, and resourcefulness in communication with irritated customers or difficult circumstances. Whether the analysis, design, development, and implementation struggles are vacuums in cybersecurity knowledge, skill, and abilities or a …

Preparing School Leaders To Advance Equity In Computer Science Education, Julie Flapan, Jean J. Ryoo, Roxana Hadad, Joel Knudson

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Background and Context: Most large-scale statewide initiatives of the Computer Science for All (CS for All) movement have focused on the classroom level. Critical questions remain about building school and district leadership capacity to support teachers while implementing equitable computer science education that is scalable and sustainable.

Objective: This statewide research-practice partnership, involving university researchers and school leaders from 14 local education agencies (LEA) from district and county offices, addresses the following research question: What do administrators identify as most helpful for understanding issues related to equitable computer science implementation when engaging with a guide and workshop we …

Teachers’ Engagement And Self-Efficacy In A Pk–12 Computer Science Teacher Virtual Community Of Practice, Robert Schwarzhaupt, Feng Liu, Joseph Wilson, Fanny Lee, Melissa Rasberry

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Prekindergarten to 12th-grade teachers of computer science (CS) face many challenges, including isolation, limited CS professional development resources, and low levels of CS teaching self-efficacy that could be mitigated through communities of practice (CoPs). This study used survey data from 420 PK–12 CS teacher members of a virtual CoP, CS for All Teachers, to examine the needs of these teachers and how CS teaching self-efficacy, community engagement, and sharing behaviors vary by teachers’ instructional experiences and school levels taught. Results show that CS teachers primarily join the CoP to gain high-quality pedagogical, assessment, and instructional resources. The study also found …

Sharcs: Secure Hierarchical Adaptive Reliable Cloud Storage Systems, Chaoyu Zhang

Student Theses and Dissertations

The recent development of cloud technology provides an on-demand availability of storage and computing resource without purchasing expensive hardware. However, traditional cloud storage services encountered challenges in data security, network communications, and system performance to emerging applications. Furthermore, these challenges have a significant influence when the massive IoT devices access cloud and the outsourcing data loss of physical control. Therefore, we design the SHARCS (Secure Hierarchical Adaptive Reliable Cloud Storage) systems to implement the multi-layer cloud storage that outsources parallelized ABE (Attribute-Based Encryption) to fog servers and equip IoT devices with TrustZone. This study aims to provide a general-purpose solution …

Artificial Intelligence (Ai) And Augmented Reality (Ar): Disambiguated In The Telemedicine / Telehealth Sphere, Sharon L. Burton

Publications

The world is navigating through unfamiliar and incomprehensible times – COVID-19, international economic crisis, and crumbling healthcare systems. The United States (US) healthcare industry is grappling with an increased workload and advancing digitization technological concerns. The failure of organizations to offer suitable cybersecurity controls within the critical infrastructure leads to advanced persistent threat (APT) that could have incapacitating effects on organizations. A keen understanding of cybersecurity is vital for leaders and the need is referenced in US policy that advances a national unity of effort to strengthen and maintain secure, functioning, and resilient critical infrastructure. Akin to the Presidential Policy …

Cybersecurity Leaders: Knowledge Driving Human Capital Development, Sharon L. Burton

Publications

Cybersecurity leaders must be able to use critical reading and thinking skills, exercise judgment when policies are not distinct and precise, and have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to tailor technical and planning data to diverse customers’ levels of understanding. Ninety-three percent of cybersecurity leaders do not report directly to the chief operating officer. While status differences influence interactions amid groups, attackers are smarter. With the aim of protecting organizations and reducing risk, knowledge about security must increase. Understanding voids are costly and increased breach chances are imminent. Burning questions exist. What are needed technological learnings for cybersecurity leaders to …

Adversarial Attack On Neural Machine Translation System, Abijith K. P.

Master’s Dissertations

Nowadays Deep Neural Network based solutions are deployed to solve numerous tasks. Thus, it has become absolutely important to study the robustness of these systems. Machine Translation is one of the popular applications of Deep Neural Networks. This thesis studies the robustness of Neural Machine Translation systems by generating adversarial examples with the objective to fool the model. Whenever there is a change in the source, i.e. when a word in the input sentence is replaced by an unrelated word, the translation system is supposed to reflect the changes while doing translation. These unwanted invariance learned by the model is …

Computational Thinking And Literacy, Sharin Rawhiya Jacob, Mark Warschauer

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Today’s students will enter a workforce that is powerfully shaped by computing. To be successful in a changing economy, students must learn to think algorithmically and computationally, to solve problems with varying levels of abstraction. These computational thinking skills have become so integrated into social function as to represent fundamental literacies. However, computer science has not been widely taught in K-12 schools. Efforts to create computer science standards and frameworks have yet to make their way into mandated course requirements. Despite a plethora of research on digital literacies, research on the role of computational thinking in the literature is sparse. …

Git As An Encrypted Distributed Version Control System, Russell G. Shirey

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops and presents a secure Git implementation, Git Virtual Vault (GV2), for users of Git to work on sensitive projects with repositories located in unsecure distributed environments, such as in cloud computing. This scenario is common within the Department of Defense, as much work is of a sensitive nature. In order to provide security to Git, additional functionality is added for confidentiality and integrity protection. This thesis examines existing Git encryption implementations and baselines their performance compared to unencrypted Git. Real-world Git repositories are examined to characterize typical Git usage and determine if the existing Git encryption implementations …

A Novel Malware Target Recognition Architecture For Enhanced Cyberspace Situation Awareness, Thomas E. Dube

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid transition of critical business processes to computer networks potentially exposes organizations to digital theft or corruption by advanced competitors. One tool used for these tasks is malware, because it circumvents legitimate authentication mechanisms. Malware is an epidemic problem for organizations of all types. This research proposes and evaluates a novel Malware Target Recognition (MaTR) architecture for malware detection and identification of propagation methods and payloads to enhance situation awareness in tactical scenarios using non-instruction-based, static heuristic features. MaTR achieves a 99.92% detection accuracy on known malware with false positive and false negative rates of 8.73e-4 and 8.03e-4 respectively. …

Internet Information Server Scanner : Scanning On Url Vulnerabilities, Yu Jin Tan

Student Works (2000-2009)

This dissertation analyzes weaknesses on web servers, focusing on Microsoft's Internet Information Server (HS). As part of the research, an HS scanner (HS-SCAN) has been implemented to probe only on URL vulnerabilities. The need for a vulnerability scanner stems from the alarming number of successful attacks on computer systems that are connected to the Internet. The security flaws threatening e-businesses and the Internet community has prompted bona fide defense measures. Internet firewalls - gateways controlling access between one network and all the others - became a must-have for any organization connecting to the Net. If the firewall is considered the …