Regional Cybersecurity/Cyberinfrastructure Workshop Targeting Minority Serving Institutions: Low-Cost/High-Impact Cyberdefense and Cyberinfrastructure Resources

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

The CyberRISK (Regional Information Security Knowledge-sharing) workshop brings together twenty Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) with diverse characteristics and academic missions, but with a shared need for training, resources, and peer networking on Because cybersecurity postures arise from policy and technical designs, attending institutions bring two participants: one policy lead (CIO or senior leader with policy-setting authority) and one technical lead (security or networking resource responsible for security protections). Workshop programs follow policy and technical tracks, emphasizing their coordination for effectiveness and coherence. Pre-workshop surveys shape workshop content so it is relevant for the diverse institutional circumstances, priorities, and levels of cybersecurity maturity. National and regional cyber experts, network operators, and research university peers participate to broaden and diversify insight into best practices and relevant service offerings, and to promote interaction around campus cyberinfrastructure, science use cases, and regional / national cyberinfrastructure resources. This workshop's intellectual merit stems from information exchanged at the event, which leads to new ideas, relationships and collaborations among the diverse participants: colleges and universities, regional and national cyber experts, and relevant consortia. Evaluative instruments employed before, during, and after the event shed light on changes and actions arising from the workshop that improve participants' cybersecurity postures. Broader impact of this workshop begins with the dissemination of workshop materials, presentations, and plans that are publicly available for adaptation and reuse; it extends further by providing a framework and model for future regional workshops, with the results of evaluative instruments available to guide improvements of those workshops. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.