Last year, the National Security Agency (NSA) awarded the Cybersecurity Center at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) a $3 million grant to build cyber talent through a variety of approaches, including apprenticeships, and bring more cyber employers to the area.
According to Cal State Bernadino press release, the grant has helped fund the center’s efforts to encourage students to consider careers in the cybersecurity field. The project is in partnership with the Riverside Community College District’s LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network, San Bernardino County Schools, and the company Tomorrow’s Talent.
Last week, CSUSB announced a $12 million federal grant, with potential for an additional third year and $5 million more, in its efforts to develop a robust cybersecurity workforce in partnership with colleges and universities around the country.
Under the two-year grant from the NSA’s Center of Academic Excellence (CAE), the Cybersecurity Center will continue in its designation as a National CAE (NCAE), supporting more than 380 CAE institutions and projects, said Tony Coulson, a professor of information and decision sciences and executive director of the Cybersecurity Center.
“The focus of our efforts in this grant is on cyber defense, cyber research and cyber operations at educational institutions across the country,” Coulson said. “The implementation also includes an expansion of the NCAE Cybergames, a platform where students compete to defend networks and hone their cybersecurity skills aimed at beginners. The CSUSB-developed NICE Challenge (National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education) project will also be expanded, focused on ensuring the workforce is ready. This system is being used by almost 600 colleges and universities nationwide. Our goal is to solve the cybersecurity workforce deficit, which is now estimated to be 700,000,” Coulson said.
The center will provide technical support for Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) Centers, curriculum and infrastructure, including a portal of CAE resources. The center will also facilitate strategic initiatives in research, other national centers, student and faculty development, diversity and workforce development activities to help solve the nation’s cyber workforce crisis.
U.S. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, a longtime supporter of the program and a key proponent of the grant, said the funding will be twofold, supporting and encouraging students to enter the cybersecurity field and enhancing national security efforts.
“Our region is taking critical steps towards investing in our young people and strengthening our national security,” said Aguilar. “I’ve been a proud advocate for federal funding for the CSUSB Cybersecurity Center because I know the potential of our students. I look forward to seeing them grow and thrive in our community as they prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.”
As part of the development activities and research, Coulson said the center would also expand into competitions where students at the partnering colleges and universities programs can test their skills and work readiness from challenges that include tabletop exercises to actual hacking.
In addition, the Cybersecurity Center continues to work with a number of federal agencies – the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency, the FBI, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense – along with businesses to create state-of-the-art programs and partnerships for cybersecurity education, training, internships, jobs and most recently apprenticeships to increase the cyber workforce.
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