Waleed Farag
Indiana University of Pennsylvania Distinguished University Professor Waleed Farag, professor of computer science and director of the IUP Institute for Cyber Security, is a featured guest on the Cybersecurity Guide podcast.
Interviewed on episode 85, Farag explains the program’s long-standing National Center of Academic Excellence designation, its interdisciplinary approach combining cybersecurity and criminal justice, and the hands-on opportunities available through faculty-led research, student employment, clubs, competitions, and industry-focused projects.
He also highlights scholarship-for-service opportunities, including Department of War support, as well as research in Internet of Things security and zero trust, language and cultural training initiatives, and statewide partnerships designed to strengthen cybersecurity education and workforce pipelines. He closes by emphasizing that success in cybersecurity requires curiosity, continuous self-learning, and the ability to keep pace with a rapidly changing field.
IUP’s Institute for Cyber Security at IUP was founded in 2005 to further encourage and promote cybersecurity at IUP and the surrounding community. Farag has been director of the institute for the past 14 years.
IUP is one of the first institutions in the nation to receive the Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designation by the National Security Agency. The university has held that designation since 2002 and is one of only 16 universities in Pennsylvania with this designation.
The IUP cybersecurity program has more than 120 students enrolled, and about 25 students annually complete the program and receive their bachelor’s degree in the computer science/cybersecurity track. IUP’s program also focuses on cybercrime detection, loss prevention, and how to collect evidence to prosecute cybersecurity offenders.
IUP began offering its bachelor of science in computer science/cybersecurity track (originally information assurance) and a minor in cybersecurity in 2002 when Farag joined the IUP faculty. This program combined core computer science and cybersecurity classes with a minor in criminology, creating a novel curriculum that helped students gain a broad understanding of the field and be work-ready.
During his time at IUP, Farag has been the principal investigator for 33 different projects, securing more than $15 million in federal funding for IUP. His success in grant writing includes securing the largest grant in the history of the university: $6.5 million from the Department of War for “A Collaborative PA-wide Community College Consortium for Enhancing STEM and Cybersecurity Education” in 2022.
He also secured a nearly $1 million grant for a program to help cybersecurity students develop Chinese language skills.
In 2025, he won a Pennsylvania Cyber Workforce Alliance grant of $316,440 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, engaging more than 12 stakeholders collaborating to address the national security workforce gap.
Farag recently secured, as the PI, $500,000 over three years from the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity to establish the ARMZTA project, one of the largest research awards in IUP’s history. The project developed a novel, automated framework for mitigating cyber risks in zero‑trust environments by integrating federated learning with zero‑trust principles, advancing scalable and next‑generation cyber defense capabilities.
He has secured 76 scholarships—each worth about $50,000—from the Department of War for scholarships for undergraduate cybersecurity majors. He has also secured funding through the CAE-C PhD Scholarship program, a pilot program that provides full scholarships to five PhD cybersecurity students nationally. One of these scholarships was awarded to one of Farag’s PhD students.
Farag is responsible for establishing the first GenCyber cybersecurity summer program in Pennsylvania at IUP. This program began in 2016 and has continued to receive support for the past 10 years, allowing students and teachers to attend entirely free of charge. IUP is the only Pennsylvania university selected to host and present this program. IUP’s program has trained more than 550 kindergarten through grade 12 teachers and students from across the United States in cybersecurity.
Farag’s reputation is well known in the commonwealth, nationally, and internationally. In 2023, he was an invited participant for a roundtable discussion with Jake Braun, acting principal deputy national cyber director in the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, on cybersecurity and workforce development. He is a frequent presenter at national security and technology conferences and has been a featured annual presenter at the Centers for Academic Excellence Community Symposia since 2014.
He has authored more than 75 refereed publications and three book chapters with original contributions to the literature of multimedia content-based retrieval systems, and he is the recipient of a best paper award from the Association for Computing Machinery. He is frequently consulted by national universities to serve as an external evaluator of promotion applications for their faculty and is a reviewer for many international journals and conferences.
He has been a faculty mentor for students entering original research in the IUP Scholars Forum since 2019 and has been the dissertation committee chair or member for seven doctoral students completing dissertations. He is the faculty advisor for IUP’s Cyber Security Club, which has consistently won awards in regional “Hackathon” competitions.
He has also been a member of many important departmental and university-wide committees and task forces, including serving as an elected senator in the University Senate.
Farag was selected for IUP’s Distinguished University Professor award in 2026. This award recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies excellence in all areas of teaching, research and scholarly activities, and service. The Distinguished University Professor recognition is a title that the recipient holds for life.
In addition to his Distinguished University Professor recognition, Farag was selected by IUP President Michael Driscoll for a Raising the Research Profile of IUP award in recognition of his securing the largest grant in IUP history, the IUP University Senate Distinguished Faculty Award for Research, the IUP John J. and Char Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Dean’s Outstanding Researcher Award, and six IUP-sponsored program awards in these categories: outstanding research, public service, commitment to sponsored programs, centers and institutes, curriculum and instruction, and high-impact teaching. He received the IUP Mathematical and Computer Sciences Department’s outstanding scholarship award for the 2018–19 academic year.
Farag completed his PhD in computer science at Old Dominion University in 2002, his master’s degree in engineering (electronics and communications) at Zagazig University in 1997, and his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Zagazig University in 1993, graduating with distinct honor and the highest rank in his department.
IUP has a longstanding commitment to research on all levels and in all disciplines. In 2021, IUP was one of only two public universities in Pennsylvania and one of only 93 public universities in the United States selected for the “High Research Activity” designation by the Carnegie Classification of Higher Institutions of Higher Education.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive campaign is designed to honor a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, public service, and leadership in healthcare education, including the first college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in the commonwealth.