UMBC has been redesignated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security for both Cyber Defense Research (CAE-R) and Education (CAE-IA/CD) for the academic years 2014-2021. UMBC is one of only 38 institutions in the US. that have recognized by NSA and DHS for both education and research.

The CAE educational designation includes (among other elements) a certification that our curriculum satisfies focus areas and knowledge units (KUs) as outlined in the NICE Framework. This framework aims to establish a common lexicon for students, universities, and employers for describing knoweldge and skills needed for various cybersecurity jobs. The CAE research designation signifies UMBC’s demonstrated excellence in conducting quality research activities pertaining to cybersecurity.

The CAE certification process was coordinated by Dr. Alan Sherman through the Center for Information Security and Assurance (CISA). Among other things, CISA oversees UMBC’s Federal CyberCorps Scholarship For Service program and is actively involved with cybersecurity education and research activities at UMBC, to include the upcoming Innovations in Cybersecurity Education Workshop on June 24.

In recent days, the United States and China have traded accusations about each nation’s alleged (or actual) espionage activities in cyberspace. Moreover, high-profile events like Stuxnet and recurring high-profile cyber-attacks such as the Target data breach continue to keep ‘cyber’ and cybersecurity issues in the news.

Today, CSEE’s Dr. Rick Forno, Cybersecurity GPD and Assistant Director of the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity, was a guest on PRI’s ‘The World’ where he discussed issues related to cyberwarfare, cybersecurity and the international application of cyberpower.