2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 167
The LSU computer science program is in the
process of adding new courses to encourage students to
pursue careers in cybersecurity.
The initiative, called the Forensic and Incident
Response Environment, or FIREStarter, will develop
a cyber range in the LSU Digital Media Center, where
computer science students can gain experience in
cybersecurity, according to an LSU press release.
“About 100 students per semester will gain handson experience analyzing and defending against
cyberattacks and emergent malware, including
ransomware,” the release says.
The classes will begin next spring semester.
The cyber range technology will be taught through
a partnership with the Cyber Crime Unit of the
Louisiana State Police and funded by a $185,911
investment from the Louisiana Board of Regents
through its Cybersecurity Talent Initiative Fund.
Computer science professor and associate director
for cybersecurity Golden Richard is leading the
FIREStarter initiative to attract more students to
cybersecurity. Richard said it’s important to get
students interested in cybersecurity early to make up
for a gap in the workforce.
“Workforce gap is problematic in federal and
state-level institutions,” Richard said. “We’re trying
to get students interested in jobs in state and federal
institutions.”
Richard said the establishment of a cyber range is
a crucial tool for students. He said it creates a realistic,
large-scale scenario for students that incorporates
cybersecurity offense and defense.
“The cool thing about this is it essentially lets you
do things that are scaled,” Richard said. “You’re not
harming real infrastructure or attacking infrastructure.
It’s all contained.”
Associate professor of computer science Anas
“Nash” Mahmoud said the FIREStarter initiative is
intended to change the culture of LSU’s computer
science department. His job as a software engineer
requires him to build the system from scratch, and he
wants students from all concentrations to be thinking
about security from the beginning.
“You think about security and safety before [a]
house is even built,” Mahmoud said. “Now, we’re going
to make it something all computer science students
[think about].”
Mahmoud said the courses included in FIREStarter
will be challenging. He said there’s a lot of theory
behind cybersecurity that can be hard to comprehend,
but that the initiative has been in the works for months
and the courses will be helpful for students.
“What we’re bringing to the table is new software
and a new framework so students can get hands-on
experience in class,” Mahmoud said. “It’s not your
traditional textbook class.”
Mahmoud said he’s already seeing a high demand
for FIREStarter programs within the department.
He said the majority of his 110-student class showed
interest and he expects that trend to follow among all
the other classes within the department.
Richard said the National Security Agency chose
LSU to pilot their new designation for their Centers of
Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAECO).
He said LSU is the only university in the U.S. to be a
part of the pilot program, which will help the NSA test
new tools for CAECO.
Richard also said it opens opportunities for students
to pursue internships in CAECO. He said 96% of
students that take that internship started working for
the NSA after college.
“This should help LSU students compete in terms
of getting slots with that internship for the summer,”
Richard said.
Cybersecurity education doesn’t start in college;
it’s even more important in middle and high school,
Juana Moreno, professor in the physics and astronomy
department, said. They’ve been training teachers to
offer computer science classes in 24 parishes across
the state to follow Richard’s emphasis to “get students
interested early.”
“There are over 2,000 students in courses. This year
it’s going to double,” Moreno said. “Our goal was to
offer those courses and not only in the more affluent
schools.”
Richard said there’s a lot of value in getting students
interested early, and he wants more young people to
know they can pursue cybersecurity for their careers
because of the workforce gap in the cybersecurity
industry.
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