Secure Information Systems Mentoring and Training (SISMAT)

Project Summary

We propose an ambitious educational program over the next two years, addressing a growing need to respond to cyber security threats. Business, government, and non-profit institutions have expressed difficulty finding personnel with appropriate training in cyber security tools. Such training requires hands-on experience with secure systems work, yet many institutions of higher learning lack the resources to provide that experience. The ISTS education initiative proposes to meet regional and national needs by implementing a pilot program in mentoring and training that will bring the extensive expertise of researchers and teachers at Dartmouth College in the areas of PKI and trusted systems together with students and faculty from other New England colleges, as well as interested corporate and non-profit partners. We explicitly target regional colleges whose curricula will have prepared upper-level undergraduates for this hands-on work but cannot offer it themselves; we target cybersecurity focus areas in which we have leadership and expertise; and we target external partners that have communicated need for training in these areas. The training program will provide undergraduates with the knowledge and support needed to participate in internships, provide opportunities for secure systems research and development to traditionally underrepresented student populations, and facilitate the development of secure systems curricula at other academic institutions.

• Principal Investigator: Sean W. Smith
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• Funding: Department of Homeland Security, National Cyber Security Division (DHS-NCSD)