June is camp month at CCI

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June 2022

At the Inaugural Virginia Cyber Navigator Boot Camp, 32 Virginia undergraduate students were prepped to work with local election registrars in Virginia and protect election infrastructure.

A Message from the Executive Director

Dear <<First Name>>,
At CCI, we put a seriously fun spin on summer camps.

I enjoyed participating in the the inaugural Virginia Cyber Navigator Boot Camp earlier this month. CCI and the Cyber Innovation and Society Initiative at the University of Virginia (UVA) held the boot camp to train undergraduate students from six Virginia public universities to protect our election infrastructure.

The camp is part of an exciting project called the Virginia Cyber Navigator Program, which is funded by a $3 million grant from the National Security Agency’s National Centers Of Academic Excellence In Cybersecurity Program.

The two-day boot camp trained 32 undergrads for summer internships with election registrars throughout Virginia. Students also took a “Cybersecurity and Elections” course during the spring 2022 semester at their home institutions to learn foundational skills for identifying and securing vulnerabilities in software systems used to support elections.

Participating universities in the Cyber Navigator Program are UVA, George Mason University, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech.

CCI Cyber Camp

Watch Now: The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative hosts 2nd annual Cyber Camp

Students from eight Virginia colleges and universities attended this month’s CCI Cyber Camp to get hands-on cybersecurity experience along with polishing their résumés and interview techniques to prepare for careers in this ever-expanding field.

An important part of CCI’s mission is to help train future cybersecurity professionals. Virginia alone has more than 56,000 open cybersecurity-related jobs.

This is our second annual Cyber Camp and the first one held in person. We’ll announce the 2023 camp next spring.

A big thank you to the CCI researchers who led workshops and cybersecurity professionals who gave their time to help prepare students to join the cybersecurity workforce.

If you missed the CCI xG Testbed equipment installation, you can catch up with this video.

Watch Now: Commonwealth Cyber Initiative installs 72 radio nodes into xG test bed

Experiential learning projects awarded

As Cyber Camp demonstrated, hands-on learning is essential to developing the future cybersecurity workforce. CCI experiential learning projects continue to expand in scope and impact. This year, we’ve funded nine experiential learning projects for about $900,000 total.

The projects include a digital forensics program working with the Virginia State Police, disinformation as data poisoning, securing the nation’s election infrastructure, the use and abuse of personal information, and more. Learn about the funded projects here.

CCI teams up with Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Watch Now: VTTI partners with Commonwealth Cyber Initiative to host technology showcase

Collaboration is the bedrock of CCI’s success. The CCI Southwest Virginia Region recently hosted a technology showcase, working with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) to identify areas where researchers can collaborate.

Check out this video of VTTI demos, featuring remote control of an Autonomous Truck-Mounted Attenuator (ATMA) vehicle. The demos highlighted the use of wireless technologies such as 5G and Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) platforms.

Help secure the future of cyberspace: Participate in high-level poster session

We are honored to host the prestigious Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 2022 Summit on Oct. 25 in Washington, D.C. This annual event unites decision-makers from across Virginia and the D.C. region to learn about some of the most challenging issues facing society. This year’s theme is “Securing the Future of Cyberspace.”

I’m calling upon CCI researchers to contribute to this vital discussion by submitting a poster proposal by July 8. It’s an unparalleled opportunity to put your ideas and work before a high-level audience.

SUBMIT YOUR POSTER ABSTRACT

Cybersecurity and Education
Research Conference

The CCI Coastal Virginia region is hosting a Cybersecurity and Education Research Conference Sept. 28-29 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The focus is on experiential learning research and practice in cybersecurity.

SUBMIT YOUR POSTER ABSTRACT

International collaboration

We recently welcomed visitors from 6G Finland to the CCI Hub in Arlington, Virginia. I have collaborated with researchers in Finland for a couple of decades and am looking forward to strengthening this partnership.

Like many of you, we’ll be taking some time off in July. You’ll see a combination July-August newsletter in your inbox in August. Happy Summer!

Cheers,

Luiz DaSilva
Executive Director

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