ߣߣÊÓƵ University named an Ohio Cyber Range Institute Regional Programming Center
As an Ohio Cyber Range Institute-Regional Programming Center, or OCRI-RPC, ߣߣÊÓƵ University will support the advancement of the state of Ohio’s overall cyber initiatives.
ߣߣÊÓƵ University named an Ohio Cyber Range Institute Regional Programming Center
Through the leadership of the interdisciplinary Center for Cybersecurity, ߣߣÊÓƵ University was officially named a Regional Programming Center (RPC) for the in July 2024. As an RPC, ߣߣÊÓƵ University is now part of a collaborative group of state universities and government entities which works to further the OCRI’s goals of education, workforce development, and economic growth in the area of cybersecurity.
Each RPC in the OCRI’s network offers a different set of strengths and opportunities for the Ohio Cyber Range Institute. ߣߣÊÓƵ University’s primary focus as an RPC will be operating a Cybersecurity Clinic to help organizations improve their cyber resilience.
The ߣߣÊÓƵ University Cybersecurity Clinic, developed through a collaboration involving ߣߣÊÓƵ’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science (CLAAS), and Farmer School of Business (FSB), has a stated mission to help governments and other small organizations improve their cyber resilience. Through the Cybersecurity Clinic, teams of ߣߣÊÓƵ University students, supervised by faculty and professional staff, offer security assessments and security policy reviews. Following the success of their pilot project (the completion of a security assessment and policy review for the City of Oxford in spring 2024) the ߣߣÊÓƵ University Cybersecurity Clinic is collaborating with the OCRI’s Ohio Persistent Cyber Improvement (OCPI) project to identify and assist other organizations.
In addition to offering security assessments, ߣߣÊÓƵ University’s role as an RPC will also include education and workforce development through the Center for Cybersecurity to support the goals of the OCRI. This includes a 2024 summer cyber camp for high schoolers, as well as a planned 2025 cybersecurity bootcamp to help high school and college students obtain the Security+ certification, funded through a grant from Duke Energy.
“ߣߣÊÓƵ University is proud to be named a Regional Programming Center for the Ohio Cyber Range Institute,” said James Walden, Professor and Director of the ߣߣÊÓƵ University Center for Cybersecurity. “We look forward to joining this collaborative effort to improve cybersecurity in the state of Ohio.”
About the Center for Cybersecurity
ߣߣÊÓƵ University established the Center for Cybersecurity in 2023 to coordinate the educational, outreach, and research missions of its cybersecurity programs. Eleven ߣߣÊÓƵ faculty members are associated with the Center for Cybersecurity—from the College of Engineering and Computing, the College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science, and Farmer School of Business—nine of whom teach only or primarily cybersecurity courses. Approximately 130 students are enrolled in cybersecurity programs for fall 2024, with that number projected to double over the next two years. The Center offers cybersecurity scholarships and has been able to expand its cybersecurity lab capabilities through support from SuperRAPIDS and Choose Ohio First grant funding.