Capacity Building for Control System Security Collaborative Project

随着我国关键基础设施中越来越多的部分通过计算机系统掌握在公共和私人员工手中，对受过网络安全教育的劳动力的需求从未如此之大。由于这些基础设施的运作在很大程度上依赖于控制系统，因此必须对未来的工作人员进行有关此类系统安全的教育和培训。该项目将作为实现这一目的的工具，其在加强网络安全教育--特别是控制系统安全--方面的新颖性是基于完全沉浸于学习，利用基于问题的学习技术和动手实验。总的来说，这些活动和相应的不断改进的评估过程构成了一种可在国家范围内推广的变革性教育制度。最重要的是，该项目定位良好，有能力为网络安全教育带来前所未有的改善，特别是对代表性不足群体的成员。认识到保护我国关键基础设施的迫切需要，这一合作能力建设项目承担了一系列相互交织的任务，主要目标是开发控制系统安全课程材料，通过向社区学院和四年制机构的教师提供专业发展讲习班来增强网络安全课程，评估这些学习和教学材料的有效性，并传播这些材料供全国广泛采用。该项目为教师提供了一个独特的机会，以扩大和调整他们的网络安全课程，以解决目前在控制系统安全教育和研究方面的差距。在课程单元和虚拟试验台的设计和实施方面的合作努力，促进了这些课程工具和材料在各级高等教育中的适应性。该项目建立在两个非常成功的赠款项目的基础上：美国国家科学基金会(NSF)资助的关键基础设施安全与评估实验室(Cisal)项目(2013年5月完成)和国防部(DoD)赞助的安全意识游戏化培训项目(2013年12月完成)。随着Cisal项目和可免费获取的课程单元而发展起来的便携和具有成本效益的工具包，为在国家环境中广泛采用课程提供了慷慨的动机。

With an ever-increasing part of our nation's critical infrastructures in the hands of public and private employees via computer systems, the need for a cybersecurity educated workforce has never been so great. Since the operation of these infrastructures is heavily dependent on control systems, it is imperative that the future workforce be educated and trained on the security of such systems. This project will serve as an instrument to that purpose and its novelty in enhancing cybersecurity education--in particular control systems security--is predicated on total learning immersion utilizing problem-based-learning techniques and hands-on experimentation. Collectively, the activities and the corresponding evaluation process for continuous improvement present a transformative educational system that is replicable at the national setting. Most importantly, this project is well-positioned and has the capacity to bring about unprecedented improvement in cybersecurity education particularly to members of the underrepresented groups. Recognizing the urgent need to protect our nation's critical infrastructures, this collaborative capacity building project undertakes a series of intertwined tasks with the primary objectives of developing control systems security curriculum materials, enhancing cybersecurity curricula by offering professional development workshops to instructors of community colleges and 4-year institutions, evaluating the effectiveness of these learning and teaching materials, and disseminating these materials for widespread national adoptions. The project presents a unique opportunity for faculty to expand and retool their cybersecurity curricula to address the current gap in control systems security education and research. The collaborative effort in the design and implementation of the course modules and the virtual testbed facilitates the adaptability of those curriculum tools and materials in all levels of higher education. The project builds on two highly successful grant projects: the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Critical Infrastructure Security and Assessment Laboratory (CISAL) project that was completed in May 2013 and the Department of Defense (DoD) sponsored gamification of security awareness training project that was completed in December 2013. The portable and cost-effective toolkit that evolved with the CISAL project and the freely accessible course modules provide generous motivations for widespread curriculum adoption across national settings.