Collaborative Research: EAGER: SaTC-EDU: Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Cybersecurity: Workforce Needs and Barriers to Learning

人工智能(AI)和网络安全的交集正在成为确保经济和关键基础设施完整性的重要领域。行业和政府组织需要一支在人工智能和网络安全方面训练有素的员工队伍。为了满足这一需求，课程和研讨会正在涌现，但还没有出版的作品讨论需要教授的内容以及如何教授这些内容，以在人工智能和网络安全的交叉点培养一支劳动力队伍。该项目通过确定劳动力需求并开发可能阻止广泛参与人工智能增强的网络安全的学习障碍的解决方案，解决了我们在如何准备劳动力以将人工智能应用于网络安全问题方面的理解上的差距。该项目将为高级本科生和硕士学生创建和传播一门人工智能增强的网络安全课程，并在人工智能、网络安全和教育的交叉点上贡献新的知识。该项目将通过采访行业专家来确定人工智能增强的网络安全的劳动力培训需求。这将为为硕士和高级本科生开发一门课程提供信息，以解决现有网络安全课程框架中的差距。实践课程将作为试验台，确定人工智能增强的网络安全的关键概念挑战、先决条件和令人信服的例子。该课程将对华盛顿大学博塞尔分校的学生进行关键的人工智能增强的网络安全技能培训。此外，该项目寻求寻找机会，扩大在人工智能和网络安全的交叉点的参与。更好地理解计算专业的学生如何看待人工智能、网络安全以及两者的交叉领域的课程和职业，可以为扩大对人工智能增强的网络安全的参与提供帮助。这种跨学科的合作还将使项目团队做好准备，在人工智能和网络安全的交叉点从事教育研究。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 intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity is emerging as an important field to ensure the integrity of the economy and critical infrastructure. Industry and government organizations require a workforce that is well-trained in both AI and cybersecurity. Courses and workshops are emerging to meet this need, but there is no published work addressing the content that needs to be taught and how to teach that content to develop a workforce at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. This project addresses the gap in our understanding of how to prepare the workforce to apply AI to problems in cybersecurity by identifying workforce needs and developing solutions to learning barriers that could prevent broad participation in AI-enhanced cybersecurity. The project will create and disseminate an AI-enhanced cybersecurity course for advanced undergraduate and master's students and contribute new knowledge at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and education.This project will identify workforce training needs for AI-enhanced cybersecurity through interviews with industry experts. This will inform the development of a course for master's and advanced undergraduate students that addresses gaps in existing cybersecurity curricular frameworks. The hands-on course will serve as a testbed to identify key conceptual challenges, prerequisites, and compelling examples of AI-enhanced cybersecurity. The course will train students at the University of Washington Bothell in crucial AI-enhanced cybersecurity skills. Additionally, the project seeks to identify opportunities to broaden participation at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. A better understanding of how computing majors perceive courses and careers in AI, cybersecurity, and the intersection of the two can inform efforts to broaden participation in AI-enhanced cybersecurity. This interdisciplinary collaboration will also prepare the project team to engage in education research at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. 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.