EAGER: SaTC-EDU: Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Research and Education at Scale

毁灭性的网络攻击时有发生，这使网络安全成为社会面临的重大挑战。人工智能(AI)在筛选大量网络安全数据方面有着巨大的希望，以前所未有的效率主动识别新出现的威胁。然而，人工智能和网络安全是多样化、复杂和快速发展的领域。因此，缺乏一支在可解释和值得信赖的人工智能、人工智能系统验证和人工智能安全(包括用于安全的人工智能和用于人工智能的安全)方面知识丰富的多元化劳动力队伍。为了积极培育一个充满活力的人工智能网络安全体系，该项目将利用跨学科的学术和行业领军人物来支持一个新颖的“AI4Cyber”教育和研究计划的发展，该计划可以大规模提供，以满足对大规模、多样化和训练有素的人工智能网络安全劳动力的快速增长的需求。项目团队建议集成来自行业(例如FireEye、微软)、非营利组织和国家科学基金会计划(例如安全可信的网络空间、CyberCorps®和网络基础设施的网络安全创新)的传统上完全不同的人工智能工具、数据和资源。AI4Cyber将作为AI for Network Security社区的资源，以促进创新的教学方法，并促进对五个数据丰富和不断发展的网络安全应用程序的跨学科研究。这些应用包括网络威胁情报、隐私分析、虚假信息和计算宣传、安全运营中心和对抗性机器学习。该项目还将有助于促进专业协会和行业网络安全场所的高知名度竞争和知识共享。此外，AI4Cyber将被整合到edX提供的首个免费的网络安全人工智能大规模开放在线课程(MOOC)中，edX是世界上最大的非营利性MOOC提供商。选定的课程内容也将被整合到亚利桑那大学和印第安纳大学的网络安全硕士课程中。由于亚利桑那大学和印第安纳大学都被指定为国家安全局和国土安全部网络防御学术卓越中心，而亚利桑那大学是一家拉美裔服务机构，拟议中的项目不仅将是高质量的，而且它们还有可能接触到不同的学生，并增加人工智能-网络安全劳动力的多样性。该项目得到了安全和值得信赖的网络空间(SATC)计划的一项特别倡议的支持，该计划旨在促进网络安全、人工智能和教育领域之间新的、以前从未探索过的合作。SATC计划与联邦网络安全研究和发展战略计划和国家隐私研究战略保持一致，以保护和维护网络系统日益增长的社会和经济效益，同时确保安全和隐私。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The regularity of devastating cyber-attacks has made cybersecurity a significant challenge for society. Artificial intelligence (AI) holds significant promise in sifting through large volumes of cybersecurity data to proactively identify emerging threats with unprecedented efficiency. However, AI and cybersecurity are diverse, complex, and rapidly evolving areas. As a result, there is a lack of a diverse workforce knowledgeable in explainable and trustworthy AI, validation of AI systems, and AI safety (including AI for security and security for AI). In order to proactively foster a vibrant AI for cybersecurity system, the project will leverage interdisciplinary academic and industry leaders to support the development of a novel “AI4Cyber” education and research program that can be delivered at scale to meet the rapidly increasing demand for a large, diverse, and well-trained AI cybersecurity workforce. The project team proposes to integrate traditionally disparate AI tools, data, and resources from industry (e.g., FireEye, Microsoft), nonprofit organizations, and National Science Foundation programs (e.g., Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace, CyberCorps®, and Cybersecurity Innovation for Cyberinfrastructure). AI4Cyber will serve as a resource for the AI for cybersecurity community to facilitate innovative pedagogy and foster interdisciplinary research for five data-rich and ever-evolving cybersecurity applications. These applications include cyber threat intelligence, privacy analytics, disinformation and computational propaganda, security operations centers, and adversarial machine learning. The project will also help to facilitate highly visible competitions and knowledge sharing at professional societies and industry cybersecurity venues. In addition, AI4Cyber will be integrated into the first free AI for Cybersecurity Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) delivered on edX, which is the world’s largest nonprofit MOOC provider. Selected course content will also be integrated into the master’s in cybersecurity programs at the University of Arizona and Indiana University. Because both the University of Arizona and Indiana University are designated as National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, and the University of Arizona is a Hispanic Serving Institution, not only will the proposed programs be of high quality, but they also have the potential to reach a diverse set of students and increase diversity in the AI-cybersecurity workforce. This project is supported by a special initiative of the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program to foster new, previously unexplored, collaborations between the fields of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and education. The SaTC program aligns with the Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Strategic Plan and the National Privacy Research Strategy to protect and preserve the growing social and economic benefits of cyber systems while ensuring security and privacy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.