In September 2018, Amazon released its third generation of the Echo Dot. For millions of consumers, it instantly became yet another connection into their personal smart hubs known as 麻豆精品 S渢he internet of things. 麻豆精品 S� Smartphones. Smart speakers. Smart TVs. Smart car entertainment systems. Smart dolls. We didn 麻豆精品 S檛 forget you, laptops and tablets. All of these smarts creating a massive cloud of instant information.

麻豆精品 S淲hat I saw [at UCF] is a future powerhouse university in the cybersecurity field. I wanted to be a part of realizing it. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S� Yan Solihin, professor of computer science

Not everyone was completely enamored.

Earlier in that same year, Yan Solihin had come to UCF as the director of cybersecurity and privacy, and to lead the university 麻豆精品 S檚 cybersecurity cluster. Solihin had dedicated his career to the cyber race 麻豆精品 S� people with good intentions trying to stay two steps ahead of 麻豆精品 S渢he other people. 麻豆精品 S� Whenever he saw a new smart device introduced to the marketplace, he saw something else: another potential cyber gap.

麻豆精品 S淵ou can set up a computer with antivirus software and a firewall, 麻豆精品 S� says Solihin, 麻豆精品 S渂ut now a smart refrigerator could be the vulnerable point for an attacker to target. 麻豆精品 S�

And that begins to explain the reason behind Solihin 麻豆精品 S檚 decision to leave his position as program director of the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

麻豆精品 S淚 saw a need to ramp up the cybersecurity capabilities in the U.S., specifically the supply of talent, 麻豆精品 S� says Solihin. 麻豆精品 S淭he supply has lagged behind the demand. So I asked myself, 麻豆精品 S榃here can I achieve this? Where can I contribute to the future workforce in cybersecurity? 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�

Solihin had read about UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 advancements in cybersecurity research and academia, and its national success in cyberdefense competitions. He also heard of the school 麻豆精品 S檚 commitment to invest in cybersecurity research, education, training, talent development, and to expand its collaboration with tech companies. During a visit to determine if this is the place where he could make a difference, he toured Central Florida Research Park and saw defense companies and government entities just around the corner from UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 computer science labs and the Institute for Modeling and Simulation. Faculty members told him about graduates, with a variety of degrees, doing cybersecurity work for giants like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Google, Amazon, Instagram, even for UCF.

麻豆精品 S淲hat I saw then, 麻豆精品 S� says Solihin, 麻豆精品 S渋s a future powerhouse university in the cybersecurity field. I wanted to be a part of realizing it. 麻豆精品 S�

A Cyberdefense Powerhouse

The supply-demand gap that originally grabbed Solihin 麻豆精品 S檚 attention is now more vivid than ever. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 112,000 jobs were available for information security analysts in 2019 and the field is forecast to grow 32 percent by 2028.

Cyberdegreesedu.org ranked UCF among the top 30 colleges for cybersecurity programs in the U.S. 麻豆精品 S� above Florida State, Cornell, Clemson, George Washington and Northwestern.

麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檝e made significant advancements just since I 麻豆精品 S檝e been here, 麻豆精品 S� says Solihin. For example:

  • Earlier this year, cyberdegreesedu.org ranked UCF among the top 30 colleges for cybersecurity programs in the U.S., above schools such as Florida State, Cornell, Clemson, George Washington and Northwestern.
  • In February 2019, UCF opened the new state-of-the-art Lockheed Martin Cyber Innovation Lab.
  • Over the past two years the university 麻豆精品 S檚 cybersecurity and privacy cluster has secured $10 million in funding for its research. The funding has been awarded from government agencies such as NSF, the Office of Naval Research, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Army 麻豆精品 S檚 Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), and Cyber Florida, as well as from industry partners such as Intel and Sophos.
  • The nine professors in the cybersecurity cluster are now advising 45 Ph.D. students, four master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree students and 17 undergraduates, all of them bridging the disciplines of computer science, engineering, business and psychology to come up with real-world answers to cyber dangers. As Solihin says, 麻豆精品 S淲e cannot be confined to our individual toolboxes if we 麻豆精品 S檙e going to make meaningful advancements in dealing with important societal problems in cybersecurity. 麻豆精品 S�
  • Despite no specific bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in cybersecurity, UCF offers a minor in secure computing and networks, a master 麻豆精品 S檚 in digital forensics and a graduate certificate in modeling and simulation of behavioral cybersecurity 麻豆精品 S� all three covering the timeliest topics in cybersecurity. And brings in guest lecturers, such as Amit Kapadia, product manager for cyber resiliency and the training chief engineer at PEO STRI, who spoke to students in the Emerging Cyber Issues class on June 30.
  • The school recently announced a graduate certificate in cyber risk management while an official master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in cybersecurity moves through the pipeline for approval.
  • The presence of defense, business and government entities in Research Park continually opens doors to internships and job placement.

麻豆精品 S淲hat we have, 麻豆精品 S� says Solihin, 麻豆精品 S渋s a 20-year history of well-trained students going into cybersecurity careers. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a success that separates UCF. 麻豆精品 S�

A Top-Ranked Collegiate Cyberdefense Team

Like the cyber field itself, the cybersecurity talent coming out of UCF flew somewhat under the radar through the early 2000s. Then, in the fall of 2012, a student posed a question to Tom Nedorost 麻豆精品 S�02MS, who was in his first year as a computer science instructor at UCF.

麻豆精品 S淲e have a wealth of highly-skilled students at UCF with a tremendous passion for the good side of cybersecurity. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S� Tom Nedorost 麻豆精品 S�02MS, faculty advisor for UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 collegiate cyberdefense Teams

麻豆精品 S淭he student asked if I 麻豆精品 S檇 help form a team to enter a cyber competition, 麻豆精品 S� Nedorost says. The criteria said each school needed eight team members and four alternates. 麻豆精品 S淚 told the student he 麻豆精品 S檇 need 11 friends just like him, and didn 麻豆精品 S檛 think much more of it. 麻豆精品 S�

The student sent out an email about a meeting to gauge interest in the competition. Three days later Nedorost walked into the room with mild hopes of 12 students being there. He was floored to see 86 students waiting to hear more.

麻豆精品 S淚t proved to me, 麻豆精品 S� says Nedorost, 麻豆精品 S渢hat we have a wealth of highly-skilled students at UCF with a tremendous passion for the good side of cybersecurity. 麻豆精品 S�

The meeting launched what may have been long overdue: a cybersecurity club, called . Just six months after being formed, the 12-student team representing Hack@UCF finished 10th at the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. A year later, in a field of 180 colleges and universities, the team won the first of its three straight national championships.

Nedorost and Solihin both say UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 large pool of students (more than 3,000 computer science undergraduates and as many as 300 members in Hack@UCF) is a factor in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 track record of turning out so much cybersecurity talent. But there 麻豆精品 S檚 more to it than numbers. The success of the club is an outgrowth of the collaborative academic culture at UCF 麻豆精品 S� a mutual desire to stay ahead.

麻豆精品 S淥ur mix of specialties and perspectives gives us an important edge, 麻豆精品 S� says Nedorost. 麻豆精品 S淲e have honor-roll students majoring in engineering being pushed by students who might barely be above probation status. They 麻豆精品 S檙e all incredibly smart. They challenge each other every day, which is a direct reflection of the real cyber world. We need all of them. 麻豆精品 S�

Or, as Solihin has been saying all along: We need more of them. More smart people protecting our smart world.