The Fordham Center for Cybersecurity (FCC) was awarded a new research grant this past summer from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Titled Fordham University Cyber Scholarship Program, the grant funds two distinct initiatives. Thaier Hayajneh, Ph.D., university professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences and FCC director, will serve as principal investigator for the project.
The funding will further establish the center as a go-to for those looking to advance in the field, said Hayajneh.
“I look forward to advancing the role of the FCC as a leader in cybersecurity education and research inside Fordham and beyond,” he said.
The grant amounts to $300,000 and it will support the FCC in outreach activities with the defense department and other academic institutions.
The first initiative will support an FCC-hosted four-day clinic for cybersecurity educators to research mobile security on iOS and Android operating systems. Through lectures and hands-on exercises, the participants in the clinic will perform penetration testing on the security of mobile operating systems to expose the vulnerabilities that exist in mobile applications.
In the second initiative of the grant, scenario-based exercises and simulation materials will be provided online to cybersecurity educators in colleges and universities to incorporate into their curricula.
The purpose of both initiatives is for Fordham to develop and share its expertise in the hopes of supporting the growth of cybersecurity education and the field’s workforce.
“We are also going to present this material in NSA and DoD conferences and workshops, which will strengthen Fordham’s reputation among federal agencies as well,” Hayajneh said.
