Purdue receives funds to
train in computer, information security
By Luis Jiménez
Summer
Reporter
In hopes of relieving the nationwide shortage of
computer security and information security professionals, the National
Science Foundation will disburse $2.3 million in scholarship funds to
Purdue for the training of students in information assurance and computer
security.
The federal scholarship funds will be distributed
among 30 graduate students who will use the money to obtain master's
degrees in computer science with specialization in computer security.
In return, the students will work for the federal government one year
for each year of scholarship money they receive.
The National Science Foundation will award similar
scholarship funds to five other universities — Iowa State University,
Carnegie Mellon University, University of Idaho, University of Tulsa
and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, Calif. — to help
meet the "high demand of information security professionals."
Rita Colwell, director of the National Science
Foundation, said the scholarships will help meet a critical nationwide
demand of computer security specialists.
"These scholarships will encourage young people
to enter the field of information security and assurance and give them
an opportunity to put their talents to work at the front lines of government
cyber-security efforts," Colwell said.
Eugene Spafford, director of the Center for Education
and Research in Information Assurance and Security, said the center's
role in getting the funds was vital. He also said Purdue has a good
reputation because of the strength of the center's program.
"At the graduate level, (Purdue) is considered
to have the best program, possibly in the world, for people studying
in information security careers," said Spafford.
Spafford said Purdue is a role model for other
institutions that want to launch computer security curricula, as Purdue
offers 12 courses that have direct application to the field.
The center, Spafford said, will act as the research
home for students, providing them with the resources. The center —
which is often described as one of the premier centers of the world
in the area of information security — will also provide advice,
seminars and physical space, where students can work.
Spafford said the need of information security
professionals might be product of the increasing interest in making
computers work rather than making their information secure. He said
information security specialists have a range of possible career paths
such as the development of security software and the auditing of information
systems for security problems.
In addition to the scholarship funds, Purdue received
more than $198,000 for the development of a faculty development institute
with the intent of designing a computer security curriculum for beginning
security educators.
Spafford and Melissa Dark, the center's community
education coordinator, will lead a workshop to develop the faculty institute
curriculum.
Dark said the workshop will host computer science
and computer engineering undergraduate faculty to develop new curriculum
materials, particularly in an area that is not being addressed in current
materials — the ethical and sociological implications of poor computer
and software engineering practices.
The faculty development institute is one approach
to relieving the lack of security information educators, Spafford said.
But, until more undergraduates and graduates specialize in this field,
the lack of qualified instructors "will be a problem for a while."
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