Building Cybersecurity Workforce and Capacity through Enhancing Defending Skill Sets

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The "Building Cybersecurity Workforce and Capacity through Enhancing Defending Skill Sets" project at Texas Tech University (TTU), in partnership with the Sandia National Lab (SNL), will investigate attacking/defending strategies employed by security professionals and experts. The skillsets that will be identified by this project will be incorporated into instructional modules and materials that will provide students and professionals with the skills required to defend against cyberattacks. This research project will introduce a simulated cyber battlefield that will consist of authentic challenges, scenarios, and strategies. This authentic and engaging learning platform will allow instructors to teach the basic and advanced topics of cybersecurity to students using a realistic scenario-based approach. The cybersecurity attack and defend scenarios will be integrated into an undergraduate course curriculum that will support student learning and will enhance the effectiveness of teaching security related concepts and cyber defense techniques. TTU and SNL have a demonstrated reputation of reaching underserved minority populations with innovative and advanced educational programs.The project will consist of four major activities: (1) Conduct a set of task analyses to determine the skillsets the cybersecurity professionals employ, (2) Develop a set of instructional modules and materials based on the task analysis, (3) Design and offer scenario and competition-based workshops specifically tailored for undergraduate students, (4) Offer a two-day summer workshop for teachers and educators from colleges and universities with the aim of broadening the impacts. The collaboration between three different departments with complementary expertise will allow researchers to utilize and share resources and expertise resulting in the development of curricular materials that will be based on best practices in cybersecurity.