Information Security Commons^™

Removing The Veil: Shining Light On The Lack Of Inclusivity In Cybersecurity Education For Students With Disabilities, Felicia Hellems, Sajal Bhatia

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

There are currently over one billion people living with some form of disability worldwide. The continuous increase in new technologies in today's society comes with an increased risk in security. A fundamental knowledge of cybersecurity should be a basic right available to all users of technology. A review of literature in the fields of cybersecurity, STEM, and computer science (CS) has revealed existent gaps regarding educational methods for teaching cybersecurity to students with disabilities (SWD's). To date, SWD's are largely left without equitable access to cybersecurity education. Our goal is to identify current educational methods being used to teach SWD's …

Faculty And Advisor Advice For Cybersecurity Students: Liberal Arts, Interdisciplinarity, Experience, Lifelong Learning, Technical Skills, And Hard Work, Brian K. Payne, Bria Cross, Tancy Vandecar-Burdin

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The value of academic advising has been increasingly emphasized in higher education. In this study, attention is given to the most significant types of advice that a sample of cybersecurity faculty and advisors from the Commonwealth of Virginia recommend giving to cybersecurity students. The results show that faculty and advisors recommended that students be aware of six different aspects of cybersecurity education including the value of experience, the need for lifelong learning, the importance of hard work, the need to develop technical skills, the interdisciplinary nature of cybersecurity, and the need to develop liberal arts or professional/soft skills. Implications of …

Cyber Security Curriculum In Western Australian Primary And Secondary Schools: Interim Report: Curriculum Mapping, Nicola Johnson, Ahmed Ibrahim, Leslie Sikos, Cheryl Glowrey

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Cyber-crime poses a significant threat to Australians—think of, for example, how scams take advantage of vulnerable people and systems. There is a need to educate people from an early age to protect them from cyberthreats.

Consistent with the increasing prevalence of cyberthreats to individuals and organisations in Australia, the national Australian curriculum has been updated (version 9.0) to include specific content for cyber security for primary and secondary students up to Year 10. Endorsed by Education Ministers in April 2022, the Western Australian School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) completed a detailed audit of the endorsed Australian Curriculum version 9.0 …

The Impact Of A Gencyber Camp On In-Service Teachers’ Tpack, Kevin M. Thomas, Jessica Ivy, Kristin Cook, Robert R. Kelley

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a GenCyber camp curriculum on teachers’ technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK). The camp was designed to engage participants in developing the knowledge and skills to incorporate GenCyber Cybersecurity First Principles and GenCyber Cybersecurity Concepts (GenCyber, 2019) into their curriculums. Participants (37 middle and high school teachers from a variety of disciplines) attended one of two weeklong camps held at a Midwestern liberal arts university. Using the TPACK Self-Reflection and TPACK Self-Assessment Surveys, pre- and post-camp data were collected from participants. Findings indicate that participants demonstrated an increase in …

Toward A Student-Ready Cybersecurity Program: Findings From A Survey Of Stem-Students, Lora Pitman, Brian K. Payne, Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, Lenora Thorbjornsen

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

As the number of available cybersecurity jobs continues to grow, colleges strive to offer to their cybersecurity students an environment which will make them sufficiently prepared to enter the workforce after graduation. This paper explores the academic and professional needs of STEM-students in various higher education institutions across Virginia and how cybersecurity programs can cater to these needs. It also seeks to propose an evidence-based approach for improving the existing cybersecurity programs so that they can become more inclusive and student-ready. A survey of 251 college students in four higher-education institutions in Virginia showed that while there are common patterns …

Attitudes About Cybersecurity Articulation Agreements And Transfer Students: A Statewide Survey Of Faculty Members And Advisors, Brian K. Payne, Tracy Vandecar-Burdin, Daniela Cigularova

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In this study, cybersecurity faculty and academic advisors from community colleges and 4-year universities in the southeast region of the United States completed a survey assessing attitudes about and support for articulation agreements and related transfer policies. Hypothesizing that professional structures shape attitudes and experiences, the researchers conducted an exploratory quantitative study with primarily descriptive analyses. The results reveal differences in attitudes between community college and 4-year stakeholders and between faculty and academic advisors. The results of this study are discussed in relation to faculty and advisor training and communication.

Lessons Learnt Conducting Capture The Flag Cybersecurity Competition During Covid-19, Kee Hock Tan, Eng Lieh Ouh

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This innovative practice full paper describes our experiences conducting cybersecurity capture the flag (CTF) competition for cybersecurity enthusiast participants (inclusive of both tertiary students and working professionals) local and abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning and appreciation of cybersecurity concepts for our participants with little to no technical background can be challenging. Gamification methods such as capture the flag competition style is a popular form of cybersecurity education to help participants overcome this challenge and identify talents. Participants get to apply theoretical concepts in a controlled environment, solve hands-on tasks in an informal, game-like setting and gain hands-on active learning …

Integration Of Blockchain Technology Into Automobiles To Prevent And Study The Causes Of Accidents, John Kim

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Automobile collisions occur daily. We now live in an information-driven world, one where technology is quickly evolving. Blockchain technology can change the automotive industry, the safety of the motoring public and its surrounding environment by incorporating this vast array of information. It can place safety and efficiency at the forefront to pedestrians, public establishments, and provide public agencies with pertinent information securely and efficiently. Other industries where Blockchain technology has been effective in are as follows: supply chain management, logistics, and banking. This paper reviews some statistical information regarding automobile collisions, Blockchain technology, Smart Contracts, Smart Cities; assesses the feasibility …

Observations, Evaluations, And Recommendations For Deterlab From An Educational Perspective, Ahmed Ibrahim, Vitaly Ford

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

DETERLab is a cluster environment that provides a set of virtual machines that can be used by researchers and teachers to run cybersecurity experiments and competitions, and where it is possible to deploy different network configurations to research attack and defense mechanisms in the cyber world. While we were working to develop a pathway for producing more usable and effective cybersecurity educational resources by investigating and examining several projects, we examined DETERLab as a prospective platform to use in the classroom. Throughout our experimentation, we faced challenges that we decided to document in order to help other educators use the …

An Exploratory Study Of Mode Efficacy In Cybersecurity Training, Michael D. Workman

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Cybersecurity capabilities in organizations and governmental agencies continue to lag behind the threats. Given the current environment, these entities have placed renewed emphasis on cybersecurity education. However, education appears to lack its full potential in most settings. Few empirical studies have systematically tested the efficacy of various training methods and modes, and those that have been conducted have yielded inconsistent findings. Recent literature on the use of gamified simulations have suggested that they may improve cybersecurity behaviors. Similarly, live activities such as hackathons and capture the flag events have been surmised to augment learning and capabilities. We conducted an exploratory …

A Look Into Increasing The Number Of Veterans And Former Government Employees Converting To Career And Technical Cybersecurity Teachers, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Michael Anthony Crespo, Drew E. Brown, Deborah Marshall, Otilia Popescu, Murat Kuzlu, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Linda Vahala

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The current state of technology with recent explosions in the digital processing of paperwork, computer networking use, and online and virtual approaches to areas, which until very recently had traditional and non-computerized ways of operating, led to a steady increase in the demand for jobs in the area of computer science and cybersecurity. The education system, the pipeline for the incoming workforce, needs to keep up with this tremendous pace in technology and the job market. The current K-12 school system has been extensively challenged to fill out necessary positions in order to address the increasing need for programs that …

Cybersecurity Education For Non-Technical Learners, Matthew Mcnulty

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Today’s world is increasingly reliant on technology for school, work, entertainment, and general home use. Many jobs today could not be performed without the use of computer systems or other technology. As lives become intertwined with technology, everyone will inevitably encounter malicious, vulnerable, or privacy-compromising devices or services. Unfortunately, knowledge of how to deal with these cybersecurity and privacy issues is not something that falls within the domain of common knowledge for the everyday person. Additionally, there is a lack of work being done to understand the educational needs of various groups within the general public and educate them. This …

Applying High Impact Practices In An Interdisciplinary Cybersecurity Program, Brian K. Payne, Lisa Mayes, Tisha Paredes, Elizabeth Smith, Hongyi Wu, Chunsheng Xin

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The Center for Cybersecurity Education and Research at Old Dominion University has expanded its use of high impact practices in the university’s undergraduate cybersecurity degree program. Strategies developed to promote student learning included learning communities, undergraduate research, a robust internship program, service learning, and electronic portfolios. This paper reviews the literature on these practices, highlights the way that they were implemented in our cybersecurity program, and discusses some of the challenges encountered with each practice. Although the prior literature on high impact practices rarely touches on cybersecurity coursework, the robust evidence of the success of those practices provides a sound …

Exploring Cybersecurity Education At The K-12 Level, Weiru Chen, Yuming He, Xin Tian, Wu He, E. Langran (Ed.), D. Rutledge (Ed.)

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

K-12 cybersecurity education is receiving growing attention with the growing number of cyberattacks and a shortage of cybersecurity professionals. However, there are many barriers for teachers to implement effective cybersecurity education in formal classroom environments. This study conducts a systematic literature review to examine the current state-of-the-art on K-12 cybersecurity education. Through the systematic literature review, we identified 20 closely relevant papers and recognized that a well-designed curriculum in cybersecurity education at the K-12 level is strongly needed to motivate students to pursue cybersecurity pathways and careers. The challenge and suggestions of curriculum design, teaching strategy, and learning assessment are …

Promoting Diversity In Teaching Cybersecurity Through Gicl, Yuming He, Wu He, Xiaohong Yuan, Li Yang, Theo Bastiaens (Ed.)

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

In summary, it is necessary to develop a diverse group of K-12 students’ interest and skills in cybersecurity as cyber threats continue to grow. Evidence shows that educating the next generation of cyber workers is a crucial job that should begin in elementary school. To ensure the effectiveness of cybersecurity education and equity at the K-12 level, teachers must create thoughtful plans for considering communities’ interests and needs, and to continually reconsider what’s working and how to adjust our strategies, approaches, design, and research plan to meet their specific needs, challenges, and strengths, particularly with students from under-served and underrepresented …

Deapsecure Computational Training For Cybersecurity Students: Improvements, Mid-Stage Evaluation, And Lessons Learned, Wirawan Purwanto, Yuming He, Jewel Ossom, Qiao Zhang, Liuwan Zhu, Karina Arcaute, Masha Sosonkina, Hongyi Wu

University Administration Publications

DeapSECURE is a non-degree computational training program that provides a solid high-performance computing (HPC) and big-data foundation for cybersecurity students. DeapSECURE consists of six modules covering a broad spectrum of topics such as HPC platforms, big-data analytics, machine learning, privacy-preserving methods, and parallel programming. In the second year of this program, to improve the learning experience, we implemented a number of changes, such as grouping modules into two broad categories, "big-data" and "HPC"; creating a single cybersecurity storyline across the modules; and introducing post-workshop (optional) "hackshops." Two major goals of these changes are, firstly, to effectively engage students to maintain …

A Serious Game For Social Engineering Awareness Creation, Fabian Muhly, Philipp Leo, Stefano Caneppele

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Social engineering is a method used by offenders to deceive their targets utilizing rationales of human psychology. Offenders aim to exploit information and use them for intelligence purposes or financial gains. Generating resilience against these malicious methods is still challenging. Literature shows that serious gaming learning approaches are used more frequently to instill lasting retention effects. Serious games are interactive, experiential learning approaches that impart knowledge about rationales and concepts in a way that fosters retention. In three samples and totally 97 participants the study at hand evaluated a social engineering serious game for participants’ involvement and instruction compliance during …

A Survey Of Serious Games For Cybersecurity Education And Training, Winston Anthony Hill Jr., Mesafint Fanuel, Xiaohong Yuan, Jinghua Zhang, Sajad Sajad

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Serious games can challenge users in competitive and entertaining ways. Educators have used serious games to increase student engagement in cybersecurity education. Serious games have been developed to teach students various cybersecurity topics such as safe online behavior, threats and attacks, malware, and more. They have been used in cybersecurity training and education at different levels. Serious games have targeted different audiences such as K-12 students, undergraduate and graduate students in academic institutions, and professionals in the cybersecurity workforce. In this paper, we provide a survey of serious games used in cybersecurity education and training. We categorize these games into …

Malaware Defensive: A Game To Train Users To Combat Malware, Tyler Moon, Tamirat Abegaz, Bryson Payne, Abi Salimi

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Several research findings indicate that basic cyber hygiene can potentially deter the majority of cyber threats. One of the ways cybersecurity professionals can prepare users to ensure proper hygiene is to help them develop their ability to spot the difference between normal and abnormal behavior in a computer system. Malware disrupts the normal behavior of a computer system. The lack of appropriate user training has been one of the main reasons behind the exposure of computer systems to threats, from social engineering to viruses, trojans, and ransomware. Basic knowledge about common behavioral characteristics of malware could help users identify potentially …

From Degree To Chief Information Security Officer (Ciso): A Framework For Consideration, Wendi M. Kappers, Martha Nanette Harrell,

Publications

Educational entities are establishing program degree content designed to ensure cybersecurity and information security assurance skills are adequate and efficient for preparing students to be successful in this very important field. Many Master’s level programs include courses that address these skills in an attempt to provide a well-rounded program of study. However, undergraduates who are in the practitioner’s world have other alternatives to gain these skills. These individuals can gain various certifications, such as the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). Due to a perceived gap between academics and field knowledge, it appears …

Teaching Data Carving Using The Real World Problem Of Text Message Extraction From Unstructured Mobile Device Data Dumps, Gary D. Cantrell, Joan Runs Through

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Data carving is a technique used in data recovery to isolate and extract files based on file content without any file system guidance. It is an important part of data recovery and digital forensics, but it is also useful in teaching computer science students about file structure and binary encoding of information especially within a digital forensics program. This work demonstrates how the authors teach data carving using a real world problem they encounter in digital forensics evidence processing involving the extracting of text messages from unstructured small device binary extractions. The authors have used this problem for instruction in …

An Alternative To The One-Size-Fits-All Approach To Isa Training: A Design Science Approach To Isa Regarding The Adaption To Student Vulnerability Based On Knowledge And Behavior, Thomas Jernejcic

SDSU Data Science Symposium

Any connection to the university’s network is a conduit that has the potential of being exploited by an attacker, resulting in the possibility of substantial harm to the infrastructure, to the university, and to the student body of whom the university serves. While organizations rightfully “baton down the hatches” by building firewalls, creating proxies, and applying important updates, the most significant vulnerability, that of the student, continues to be an issue due to lack of knowledge, insufficient motivation, and inadequate or misguided training. Utilizing the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, this research effort seeks to address the latter concern of …

Divergent Student Views Of Cybersecurity, Susan E. Ramlo, John B. Nicholas

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Cybersecurity is a worldwide issue and concern. Prior studies indicate that many people do not use cybersecurity best practices. Although these prior studies used large-scale surveys or interviews, this study used Q methodology [Q] because Q provides greater insight than Likert-format surveys. In fact, Q was created to scientifically study subjectivity. Within a Q study, various stages as well as philosophical, epistemological, and ontological principles represent a complete methodology. At first, Q researchers collect items that represent the broad range of communications about the topic (called the concourse). Although the items can be pictures, scents, or other means of communication, …

Cybersecurity Education Through Technological And Engineering Literacy Standards, Philip A. Reed, Steven A. Barbato

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Proposal For A Joint Cybersecurity And Information Technology Management Program, Christopher Simpson, Debra Bowen, William Reid, James Juarez

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Cybersecurity and Information Technology Management programs have many similarities and many similar knowledge, skills, and abilities are taught across both programs. The skill mappings for the NICE Framework and the knowledge units required to become a National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education contain many information technology management functions. This paper explores one university’s perception on how a joint Cybersecurity and Information Technology Management program could be developed to upskill students to be work force ready.

Adversarial Thinking: Teaching Students To Think Like A Hacker, Frank Katz

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Today’s college and university cybersecurity programs often contain multiple laboratory activities on various different hardware and software-based cybersecurity tools. These include preventive tools such as firewalls, virtual private networks, and intrusion detection systems. Some of these are tools used in attacking a network, such as packet sniffers and learning how to craft cross-site scripting attacks or man-in-the-middle attacks. All of these are important in learning cybersecurity. However, there is another important component of cybersecurity education – teaching students how to protect a system or network from attackers by learning their motivations, and how they think, developing the students’ “abilities to …

Cybersecurity Education In Utah High Schools: An Analysis And Strategy For Teacher Adoption, Cariana June Cornel

Theses and Dissertations

The IT Education Specialist for the USBE, Brandon Jacobson, stated:I feel there is a deficiency of and therefore a need to teach Cybersecurity.Cybersecurity is the “activity or process, ability or capability, or state whereby information and communications systems and the information contained therein are protected from and/or defended against damage, unauthorized use or modification, or exploitation” (NICE, 2018). Practicing cybersecurity can increase awareness of cybersecurity issues, such as theft of sensitive information. Current efforts, including but not limited to, cybersecurity camps, competitions, college courses, and conferences, have been created to better prepare cyber citizens nationwide for such cybersecurity occurrences. In …

Cybersecurity Education: The Quest To Building Bridge Skills, Andy Igonor, Raymond L. Forbes, Jonathan Mccombs

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Today's employers differ in what skills and abilities they believe make for a competent cybersecurity professional; however, they concur on the importance of technical and soft skills, which we collectively refer to as "bridge skills" - in other words, skills needed to bridge employer needs and what higher education teaches. Higher education, on the other hand favors producing a holistic and rounded graduate, with soft skills incorporated into the first one or two years of study. Somewhere between these two dichotomies is a missing link which currently manifests as higher education not meeting the needs of industry relative to cybersecurity …

”Cyberworld” As A Theme For A University-Wide First-Year Common Course, Kristen Przyborski, Frank Breitinger, Lauren Beck, Ronald S. Harichandran

Engineering and Applied Science Education Faculty Publications

Nowadays we all live in a cyber world and use the internet for emailing, banking, streaming video, shopping, reading news, or other activities. Given all the time people spend online, it is important that all students (regardless of their major) learn some basics about living in a cyber world, e.g., strategies for online safety, impact of artificial intelligence, digital forensics or ancestry.com. To facilitate students from many majors to learn about important issues related to the internet, eight faculty from a variety of disciplines at the University of New Haven integrated the theme of Cyber World into our team-taught, first-year …

Cybersecurity Education: The Need For A Top-Driven, Multidisciplinary, School-Wide Approach, Lucy Tsado

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The human resource skills gap in cybersecurity has created an opportunity for educational institutions interested in cybersecurity education. The current number of schools designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Security Agency (NSA) as Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) to train cybersecurity experts are not sufficient to meet the shortfall in the industry. The DHS has clearly mapped out knowledge areas for cybersecurity education for both technical and non-technical disciplines; it is therefore possible for institutions not yet designated CAEs to generate cybersecurity experts, with the long-term goal of attaining the CAE designation. The purpose of this …