CyberTraining: Pilot: Interdisciplinary Cybersecurity Education to Support Critical Energy and Chemical Infrastructure

关键的能源和化学基础设施越来越依赖于将信息技术（IT）集成到操作技术（OT）中，以进行数据分析，自动化和远程操作。尽管最近取得了进展，但基础设施仍然容易受到网络攻击。管理OT环境中的漏洞与IT环境中的漏洞非常不同。拉马尔大学的项目团队旨在解决这些漏洞。该团队包括化学工程，计算机科学和刑事司法教师，并建议制定一个跨学科的网络安全教育计划，以支持关键能源和化学基础设施的劳动力需求。该项目将产生面向知识和实践的内容，高等教育界可以立即利用。该计划将为学生了解与工业网络安全相关的关键问题奠定基础，制定网络风险管理战略，建立促进业务连续性的能力，该项目的目标是转变工业网络安全研究的状态，为能源和化学工业的劳动力准备，并扩大工程学位计划中的网络安全教育的支持。关键基础设施。学生将在维护运营网络安全方面进行研究;数据保护策略和“深度防御”;网络安全事件响应规划;以及远程访问IT和OT系统。该项目将IT和OT技术的研究和教育整合到网络安全的三大支柱：人员，技术和流程中。项目小组将开发一门新课程，其中包括一系列连贯的课程模块，以纳入传统的化学工程课程;为化学工程、计算机科学和刑事司法课程开发积极的案例研究;通过游戏、桌面练习、讲习班、研讨会以及与能源和化学工业、网络安全工业和相关组织的伙伴关系，扩大学生的参与。目标受众是来自化学工程，计算机科学和刑事司法的本科生和研究生，他们将接受培训，以领导能源和化工行业解决网络安全问题。 该小组预计，鉴于目前在东道机构注册的学生的人口背景，该项目将直接吸引不同群体的学生。该项目的成果将通过各种渠道以及ACCESS计划广泛传播。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Critical energy and chemical infrastructures increasingly rely on integrating information technologies (IT) into operational technology (OT) for data analysis, automation, and remote operation. Despite recent advancement, the infrastructures continue to be prone to cyber-attacks. Managing vulnerabilities within OT environments is very different from that for IT. The project team at Lamar University aims to address these vulnerabilities. The team includes Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, and Criminal Justice faculty, and proposes to develop an interdisciplinary cybersecurity educational program to support the workforce needs of critical energy and chemical infrastructure. This project will generate knowledge- and practice-oriented contents that the higher education community can immediately utilize. The program will build the foundation for students to understand key issues associated with industrial cybersecurity, develop cyber-risk management strategies, build the capacity to facilitate business continuity, and formulate disaster recovery plans.The goal of this project is to transform the state of industrial cybersecurity research workforce preparedness for the energy and chemical industry and broaden cybersecurity education in engineering degree plans to support critical infrastructures. Students will undertake research in maintaining operational cybersecurity; data protection strategies and “Defense in Depth”; cybersecurity incident response planning; and remote access to IT and OT Systems. This project integrates research and education of IT and OT technologies within the context of the three pillars of cybersecurity: people, technology, and process. The project team will develop a new course with a cohesive series of course modules for integration into traditional chemical engineering curriculums; develop active case studies for chemical engineering, computer science and criminal justice curriculums; and broaden student participation through games, tabletop exercises, workshops, seminars and partnerships with energy and chemical industry, cybersecurity industry, and related organizations. The target audience are undergraduate and graduate students from chemical engineering, computer science, and criminal justice, who will be trained to lead energy and chemical industries in addressing cybersecurity problems. The team anticipates that the project will directly engage a diverse group of students given the demographic background of current enrollees in the host institution. The outcomes of this project will be broadly disseminated through various channels as well as the ACCESS program.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.