Mission

The Institute for Cyber Security is an interdisciplinary institute that promotes and encourages cybersecurity awareness and practice, both on campus and off, through teaching, research, and service activities to enhance people's knowledge and skills of this important field.

Cybersecurity is broadly defined to include information security, cyber forensics, data quality, data completeness, data accuracy, privacy, and other issues related to storing, transmitting, and sharing data and other information. The Institute involves faculty and students from the colleges of Business, Education and Communications, Health and Human Services, Arts and Humanities, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics in the dissemination of knowledge, research, and service projects in the general area of cybersecurity.

The Institute will affiliate itself with faculty and students at other institutions, such as community and other four-year colleges, to share resources and information in this field and promote the concept and practice of ensuring the security and integrity of information.

The Institute for Cyber Security annually secures hundreds of thousands of dollars of federally funded grants to support all of its activities. Moreover, ICS strives to establish leadership in cybersecurity by contributing to various national initiatives intended to improve the nation's security posture through:

  • Producing qualified graduates in cybersecurity.
  • Securing and executing major federally funded projects.
  • Conducting state-of-the-art research in various security topics to contribute to the body of knowledge in this important area.
  • Offering cybersecurity camps to K-12 students and teachers to foster interest in the field at various school districts throughout Pennsylvania and beyond.
  • Providing "Training the Trainer" faculty professional development workshops in cybersecurity.
  • Partnering with other Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Security to bolster the national program in cybersecurity.
  • Collaborating with companies in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and surrounding areas engaged in security research.
  • Providing internship opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in cybersecurity as they work with faculty research or community projects.
  • Increasing awareness of security and encouraging local companies to participate in security by arranging distinguished visitor seminars, and sponsoring colloquia, conferences, and workshops in the area of cybersecurity.

 

The 16th annual Cybersecurity Day will be held on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. Please visit the CSD page for event details.

The 15th annual Cyber Security Day at IUP was held on October 18, 2022. Information about the event is available on the CSD page.

Programs of Study
IUP offers a BS in computer science/cybersecurity track and a minor in cybersecurity. The IUP Cybersecurity curriculum is an NSA-validated Program of Study (PoS) and IUP is designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE). Scholarships and other unique opportunities are available to our students.
Activities
The Institute for Cyber Security, in collaboration with IT Services and other departments, actively promotes cybersecurity awareness throughout the year. Representative activities include Cyber Security Day, Cyber Security Club, National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Outreach to Community Colleges, and interdisciplinary roundtable discussions on issues of national cybersecurity.
Research and Student Work
Faculty affiliated with the Institute are actively involved in research in various cybersecurity, including IoT security, national cybersecurity strategy, intrusion detection, multimedia security, and cloud computing. Students in their studies complete several research papers and presentations in numerous cybersecurity topics.
Resources
The Institute for Cyber Security, together with the IUP Library and IT Support Services, provides links to numerous resources on cybersecurity and related fields.

News

IUP Hosting 16th Annual Cybersecurity Day

IUP will host the sixteenth annual Cybersecurity Day on Tuesday, October 31, in the HUB from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

PC4A Sponsoring Bsides Flood City Cybersecurity Conference

PC4A is sponsoring the Bsides Flood City Cybersecurity Conference, held in Johnstown, PA.

IUP Secures $1 Million from Department of Defense for Summer Language Immersion Program for Cybersecurity Students

Indiana University of Pennsylvania has received $996,350 from the Department of Defense to establish a pilot summer immersion program for cybersecurity students to develop language foundations and proficiency in Chinese. IUP is the only school in the nation chosen to develop the program.

USDA 2023 Cybersecurity Expo

The USDA Cybersecurity Expo is designed to engage and educate cybersecurity professionals and enthusiasts with the goal of raising awareness about cybersecurity and increasing the resiliency in the event of a cyber incident.

ICS Director Farag Receives Senate Distinguished Faculty Award for Research

Waleed Farag received the Senate 2023 Distinguished Faculty Award for research.

Events