C NNECT SCSSIA

9000 W. COLLEGE PKWY., PALOS HILLS, IL 60465-2478 MORAINEVALLEY.EDU

FALL 2012

Digital Forensics Chal lengeInfraGard Springfield is inviting students from Illinois community colleges and universities to participate in a Digital Forensics Challenge on Nov. 10, at the University of Illinois Springfield. This day-long, entry-level event is a mentoring opportunity for students, with an instructor-led session that will introduce forensic concepts and demonstrate implementation using industry standard software, EnCase. Forensic concepts will be combined in a practical scenario, and students will be challenged to use the tools they’ve explored to meet forensic objectives. Teams of three students from commu-nity colleges and universities across Illinois will have access to digital forensic professionals and FBI staff. InfraGard Springfield has partnered with CSSIA and the Computer Science Department of the University of Illinois Springfield for this event. For more information, contact Janis Rose at rose.janis@uis.edu or (217) 206-8246.

NatioNal ResouRce ceNteR foR systems secuRity aNd iNfoRmatioN assuRaNce

Reaching out to Historically Black Colleges and Universities

CSSIA principal investigators are working with faculty from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) to build a partnership to expand the center’s outreach to historically black colleges and universities. The initial meeting to establish the partnership began at the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE) in Orlando in 2012. CSSIA co-principal investigators Ted Mims and John Sands coordinated a meeting with Christy Chatmon, director of the FAMU Center for Secure Computing and Information Assurance. An informational sharing and planning session was hosted by FAMU, where FAMU faculty presented an overview of the group’s role as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance.

Mims and Sands presented information on opportunities for FAMU to work with the National Resource Center to expand faculty training; host cyber competitions, a Cyber Conference and Girl Tech Camp; and develop two-plus-two articulation agreements with community colleges.

The goal is to develop a needs assessment of tools, training program, and resources needed to better equip historically black colleges and universities to recruit and encourage students to major in information assurance. Once the needs assessment is completed, training of faculty and the development of tools will begin. In addition to these activities, Chatman, Mims and Sands presented at a partnering session on cybersecurity education at the NICE Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity Education “Connecting the Dots in Cyberspace” workshop. csrc.nist.gov/nice/2012workshop/index.html.

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FALL CONFERENCES

The CSSIA leadership team will present virtualization in the classroom, serve on committees and assist institutions in mapping cybersecurity curriculum among many other activities during the fall conferences.

Oct. 17-19 NCPN National Career Pathways Network Conference Richmond, Va.

Oct. 30-Nov. 1 NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, Md.

Oct. 24-26ATE PIAdvanced Technological Education Principal Investigators Washington, D.C.

Oct. 28-31STEM TechKansas City, Mo.

Nov. 28-Dec. 1ACTECareerTech VisionAtlanta, Ga.

Student SpotlightRyan Stalets is an online undergraduate computer science student at University of Illinois Springfield and Cisco certified in network associate–security. In 2010, he competed alongside Albert Kennis (then an online computer science student as well) in Cisco’s NetRiders networking competition. After taking first place in the Illinois bracket, they went on to place fourth in the North American theater, which consisted of teams from the United States and Canada.

Ryan’s future plans include earning his Cisco Certified Network Professional–Security (CCNP) certification. He currently is a network engineer with Sora Technologies in Peoria, Ill., where he supports and develops small-and medium-sized business networks. He hopes to specialize in network security in the future.

Follow CSSIANRC on

ATE Central ConnectionThe Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Central helps educators, students, and the general public discover ATE programs. Through the online portal, visitors can access available resources, including the newsletter, ATE Central Connection!, which provides up-to-date infor-mation on ATE news, events, reminders, as well as high-lights the new center, projects and resources. To learn more, visit atecentral.com.

The newly installed “yellow box” enclosing the Virtualization Data Center at Moraine Valley Community College’s Building T is part of the Center for Systems Security and Information Assur-ance (CSSIA) on campus.

Overall remodeling of Building T included relo-cating the CSSIA offices an data center toward

the main entrance. Two faculty members were hired, and two high tech class-rooms were created. There are plans for job fairs, expanded tutoring, industry forums, and more to get students further engaged in cybersecurity, said Erich Spengler, director and principal investigator of CSSIA and Moraine Valley professor of computer integrated technologies. New staff are working on devel-oping programs using a $3.7 million grant for cybersecurity and virtual labs, which is part of the approximate $20 million grant the consortium received for job training and workforce development in the information technology indus-try. The college is part of the National Information, Security, and Geospatial Technology Consortium (NISGTC), a national syndicate of seven community colleges, and 19 affiliated colleges, composed of National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Centers.

“We’re helping build seven data centers at seven other community colleges around the country. This all helps student learning, student success,” Spengler said. “We can uniquely serve students. The big picture is how both CSSIA and this grant are working together to help students here and nationally.”

Since 2003, Moraine Valley has been the lead institution for CSSIA as a regional center for five states with a focus on curriculum development, outreach, and faculty development and mentoring. It expanded into a national resource cen-ter with a focus on high school and college cybersecurity skills competitions, academic mentoring for faculty and students for competitions, and faculty development. Its Virtualization Data Center is a one-of-a-kind cyber lab with 192 servers that students can virtually log onto for competitions. Because of this, the National Science Foundation (NSF) produced a brief video highlighting the center. NSF is creating a series of videos for its website on science themes from robotics to health to computer technology. The NSF video crew interviewed students and Spengler; toured the center; followed an interactive class with John Sands, professor of Information Technology and CSSIA co-principal investiga-tor; and interviewed a Moraine Valley alum who works at Dell SecureWorks. The video shows the latest research happening at the center, advances made to deliver cybersecurity education, and how CSSIA is creating employment. The videos will be available for viewing on the NSF website in the spring.

Cybersecurity continues to evolve, and there is a need for cybersecurity experts. But it’s not always the most interesting subject to attract students. Around the CSSIA offices, Sands is trying to engage students by posting QR codes leading them to various resources and technology-based information, Spengler said. The new setup of CSSIA, classrooms and data center also helps. “That yellow room makes us a landmark on campus. We’re trying to make a nice visual effect down here so students say, ‘How can I make a career out of this?’ Kids want to be proud of what they do. We want to show them they can have a career and make a good life. We want students to hear us out and show them there are opportunities—hence all the colors, QR codes, lighting—to make this an exciting place to be. We want this to be the place to be in technology,” Spengler said.

CSSIA Undergoes Makeover, Highlighted in National Video

Teaching TechniciansTeaching Technicians is a destina-tion for information on faculty development for technician edu-cators, making it easy for tech-nician educators to learn about and take advantage of exemplary

professional development opportunities provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Tech-nological Education (ATE) grantees and others, and to increase participation in faculty development by provid-ing NSF ATE grantees a central place to announce their events.

Registration on the Teaching Technicians website is free and allows you to:

• Postoreditanydevelopmenteventyouarehosting. • Createaneventsearchthatallowsyoutodefinethe

type, time, and location of professional events in which you may be interested.

• RequestthatTeachingTechniciansemailyoureventsearch results to you.

Teaching Technicians is a simple, free, and popular path to disseminate your project or center’s development events.

teachingtechnicians.org

2 CSSIA connects

Information Storage & Management (ISM) This “train the trainer” track will prepare faculty to teach the technology-based Information Storage and Management course. This class enables ICT faculty to achieve a comprehensive introduction to storage technology. Faculty will learn about the

architectures, features, and benefits of intelligent storage systems; networked storage technologies and long-term archiving solutions, information security, and the emerging field of storage virtualization technologies.

Security + This course introduces the basic principles of network security. The student will be introduced to computer network vulnerabilities and threats and how to safeguard computer networks from those vulnerabilities and threats. This course will expose the student to network security planning, network security technology, network security organization and the legal and ethical issues associated with network security. This course is designed to prepare the student for the CompTIA Security+ certification.

VMware This hands-on training course explores installation, configuration, and management of VMware vSphere™, which consists of ESX/ESXi and vCenter Server. The course is based on ESX/ESXi 5and vCenter Server 5. Completion of this course satisfies as a prerequisite to take the VMware Certified Professional 5 exam.

Schedule

Topic Dates

Security + December 17 – 21 ISM (information storage & management)

January 7 – 11

VMware January 14 – 18

Security + May 20 – 24 ISM (information storage & management)

June 3 – 7

VMware June 10 – 14

Security + July 29 – August 2 ISM (information storage & management)

August 5 – 9

VMware August 12 – 16

Delivery Methods Train the Trainer Distance-learning training Remote and synchronous training with webex

Course Duration 5 days (virtually)

Registration Go to www.cssia.org

For more information, call 708-974-5725

Fall 2012 3

National Cyber LeagueThe NCL was founded in 2011 to provide training ground for collegiate students to develop and practice their cybersecurity skills though combined individual and team exercises.

Various cyber competitions exist, but what’s missing from the current cyber exercise landscape is a regular season that allows both the individual and student teams to practice cybersecurity in a safe, yet challenging environment. Imagine being able to practice and compete year-round in various cyber exercises, in addition to the one-off “playoff ” systems that currently exist. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, then the NCL is for you!

The NCL is committed to creating the most educational, challenging, and entertaining cyber competitions possible. To that end, the NCL

• providesaninclusiveindividualandteamcompetitivesportexperience • createsafun,experientiallearningopportunitywherestudentsdemonstrate

skills/knowledge sets • promotesproficiencyforspecificcyberskills • preparesteamsforothercyberexercises,suchastheCyberPatriot,Digital

Forensics Challenge, National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC) • continuestheacquisitionofskillstiedtocurriculum,industryneeds,

and professional certifications • enrichestheclassroomlearningexperience • promotesindustryparticipation • addressesthelackofqualifiedcybersecurityprofessionalsnationally • alignsexercisestoacademiccalendar(e.g.,semesters) • providesamechanismbywhichschools/studentscanassesstheeffectiveness

of their curriculum

nationalcyberleague.org

NETWORKING AND DINNER WITH PROFESSIONAL WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGYThe Women in Technology Mentoring Program helps women feel more comfortable entering technology careers by connecting students entering programs in technology with experienced female students who can provide guidance and answer questions, plus learn more about career opportunities for females. The relationship between students and professionals makes the transition from college into the work world smoother and less intimidating. This program was developed as a supportive environment for female students to give them guidance and support. The National Resource Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance in the fall hosted the Women in Technology Dinner during the Women in Technology Conference at Saint Xavier University (Chicago). The meeting included mentors from various areas in the industry who are excellent role models and have real-life industry experiences.

For more information on how to set up a Women in Technology Mentoring Program, contact Angela Spryopoulos at spyropoulosa@morainevalley.edu. (708) 974-5602, ext. 2184.

4 CSSIA connects

The Computer Science Department at UIS has surpassed another milestone of 643 majors enrolled in the fall 2012 semester. These 643 majors include 217 on campus and 426 online. In fall 2011, there were 567 computer science majors, with 250 on campus and 317 online.

The UIS Computer Science Department has seen continuous growth in enrollment since 1990, increasing from approximately 120 majors to 643 in 2012. This growth can be attributed to several factors, including the offering of an innovative curriculum that allows students to emphasize coursework in software engineering or systems security and infor-mation assurance. The UIS Computer Science Department has been a partner with CSSIA since it was formed in fall 2003. Through this partnership, UIS has expanded its system security and information course offerings, mapped its courses to the national standards and become a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance. In addition, UIS offers graduate credit for courses offered by CSSIA. The UIS Computer Science Depart-ment’s innovative spirit and willingness to expand its degree program and certificate pro-grams online has earned it national recognition and commendations.

Milestone Enrollment in Computer Science at the University of Illinois Springfield

REGISTRATION OPENState CCDC registration has begun. All state competitions from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin will filter into the MWCCDC for the Midwest competition on March 22 and 23, 2013. To register, go to cssia/ccdc.com.

MIDWEST

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Cyber Defense Competition

Last year, Homeland Security responded to 106,000 cyber attacks in the United States. The federal government has stated there are thousands of experts in cybersecurity, however, there is a desperate need for more. While industry professionals stress the need for more colleges and universities to enhance cybersecurity curriculums, they also stress the need for additional motivation for students.

The National Resource Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA) has responded to the need for more cybersecurity professionals. Students who are curious about cybersecurity can develop a passion for it by competing in such events as the Midwest Collegiate Cyber Defense Competitions (MWCCDC). Since 2006, more than 1,500 stu-dents have been testing their skills in an industry-like setting warding off cyber security threats while building business infrastructures.

According to Information Security Media Group’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the unemployment rate in the past year is virtually nonexistent among those with cybersecurity skills. At the MWCCDC, CSSIA embraces the job recruiting opportunity of businesses observing, interviewing and hiring the top cybersecurity students on the spot. Businesses are welcome to become a sponsor of the event and participate in a job fair. Sponsors can observe these potential employees in action. Students will have their resumes ready for this event and job interviews will take place as part of the event.

cssia/ccdc.orgTo become a sponsor, contact David Durkee at (440) 488-0331 or ddurkee14@oh.rr.com.

Sponsors Get First Pick at Future Cybersecurity Stars

Fall 2012 5

NETLAB+ User Community WorkshopThe National Resource Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance is hosting two additional two-day workshops instructing academic institutions/faculty on the procedures and processes for implementing a virtualized lab solution using NDG NETLAB+ and VMware vSphere. Virtualized labs enable organizations to host real IT equipment, virtual machines, and lab content on the Internet to support IT training. Generally these labs include all software needed to provide an environment through which students may schedule and complete lab exercises for Information Technology courses.

Participants of this workshop will be performing a “from the ground up” build of the learning environment, to include both physical and software installations. Participants should be familiar with Cisco, VMware, and Microsoft technologies before attending the workshop.

The next two-day NETLAB+ User Community Workshops are being held Dec. 17-18 and 19-20, 2012, at Florida State College, Jacksonville, Fla. To register, visit cssia.org-trainings.

If your institution is interested in scheduling a NETLAB+ User Community Workshop, contact Lynn Dohm at lynn.dohm@morainevalley.edu

The Synergy model has become a brand and icon for a collaborative, reflective process that attains meaningful improvement in technological education programs. CSSIA was pleased to have participated in a series of Synergy workshops and conferences to enable the scaling of CSSIA innovations and create greater transformations as a means for achieving impact. Synergy brought together three main elements that enhance innovation and technological education reform.

The Synergy leaders plan to continue to engage the broader ATE community with plans of a national conference in late 2013.

The release of the CompTIA Security+™ lab set, a great milestone for CSSIA, was completed through the efforts of many individuals, includ-ing our author, Jesse Varsalone, the Network Development Group (NDG), and a number of CSSIA staff, especially in the areas of technol-ogy research and quality assurance. The outcome is an exceptional set of 16 exercises mapping to the CompTIA Security+™ domains, especially intended for adoption by academic institutions teaching an information assurance curriculum and interested in a robust and extensive student experience.

One of the most unique aspects of this lab set is its delivery model. In collaboration with the Network Development Group, schools now are able to utilize their NDG NETLAB+ appliance and VMware virtualization investments to automatically receive these labs and deploy them very quickly for learning applications and curriculum enhancement. NETLAB+ and VMware provide a “sandbox”-type environment and 24/7 remote accessibility ideal for a security learn-ing space. CSSIA already has successfully deployed a CNSS 4011 security awareness lab set prior to this release and is continuing to work toward ethical hacking, forensics, CompTIA Linux+, and more. Additionally, the NETLAB+ platform already supports lab sets and curriculum from the Cisco Networking Academy, VMware IT Academy and the EMC Academic Alliance. CSSIA also offers faculty professional development opportunities for VMware ICM, EMC ISM and CompTIA Security+ in a fully synchronous modality throughout the year to get faculty up to speed on related certifica-tion and lab use.

CompTIA Security+

6 CSSIA connects

Interested in hosting your own Girl Tech? CSSIA is offering a Girl Tech mentoring workshop for faculty at the University of Illinois Springfield. Each participant will be given a full tool-kit of Girl Tech “know how” at the workshop on June 12 and 13, 2013. To register, go to cssia.org.

Studies show the number of girls in higher education in computer science is falling drastically. University of Illinois Springfield is engaging female students to spark interest in computer sciences by hosting Girl Tech, a two-day event geared toward girls in middle school.

Girl Tech 2013 will be June 13 and 14. The registration fee is $30 per girl, which includes lunch both days, snacks and a T-shirt. To participate, girls must be entering 7th, 8th or 9th grade in fall 2013. Contact Mary Sheila Tracy at mtrac1@uis.edu or (217) 206-7328.

Digital Scrapbooking: Mac Lab is used for these sessions, which introduced the girls to the basics of creating an app for an iPhone or an iPad.

Hi-Tech Design: The girls used Gimp, a smaller, free, and friendlier version of Photoshop, to create a design for their own T-shirt. Each girl left Girl Tech wearing her own design.

Lunch Break with Jenga XXL: During lunch, extra-large Jenga is played with teams of girls competing against each other to build the tallest tower.

Robots, Robots, Robots: The girls built two kinds of solar robots, one of which came from a kit. For the other, the girls were given the pieces and had to put them together and decorate them. Hence, robots with feathers and orange pipe-cleaners.

Starring YOU! A camera was set up in front of a green screen, and the girls were offered hats and scarves to use for their video.

What’s to Eat? This was an introduction to molecular gastronomy. Using chemicals that are food-safe but not normally used in the kitchen, the girls created dessert sushi, carbonated grapes, and tested fruit for sweetness. Straws were used for pipettes to create single drops of snow-cone syrup.

Fall 2012 7