DeapSECURE Computational Training for Cybersecurity: Third-Year Improvements and Impacts
Published in MODSIM World 2022, 2022
Recommended citation: B. Dodge, J. Strother, R. Asiamah, K. Arcaute, W. Purwanto, M. Sosonkina, and H. Wu (2022). "DeapSECURE Computational Training for Cybersecurity: Third Year Improvements and Impacts" Presented at the MODSIM World 2022 Conference, Norfolk, Virginia, 2022-05-11. https://www.modsimworld.org/papers/2022/MSVSCC_2022_InfrastructureSecurityMilitary.pdf
Abstract: The Data-Enabled Advanced Training Program for Cybersecurity Research and Education (DeapSECURE) was introduced in 2018 as a non-degree training consisting of six modules covering a broad range of cyberinfrastructure techniques, including high performance computing, big data, machine learning and advanced cryptography, aimed at reducing the gap between current cybersecurity curricula and requirements needed for advanced research and industrial projects. By its third year, DeapSECURE, like many other educational endeavors, experienced abrupt changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The training had to be retooled to adapt to fully online delivery. Hands-on activities were reformatted to accommodate self-paced learning. In this paper, we describe and assess the third and fourth years of the project and compare them with the first half of the project, which implemented in-person instruction. We also indicate major improvements and present future opportunities for this training program to advance the cybersecurity field.
This paper was initially presented at the 15th annual Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Student Capstone Conference 2022 at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC), Suffolk, Virginia, April 14, 2022. It won the best student paper award for the Military and Security track, and was presented again at the MODSIM World 2022 conference in Norfolk, Virginia, May 11, 2022.