EAGER: Cybersecurity Project

American Indian Higher Education Consortium, Alexandria VA

Investigators

Abstract

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s (AIHEC) Cybersecurity Initiative provides the coordinating support, resources, and capacity building strategies, needed by the nation’s 35 accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to ensure that they have a sustainable and adaptable cybersecurity environment to protect their institutions including their data-intensive research and education programs. This effort addresses issues such as data governance, compliance, data protection, and security and privacy management capabilities. In collaboration with cybersecurity professionals representing organizations at both the national and regional levels, cybersecurity service providers, and industry experts, AIHEC is developing a networked TCU cybersecurity community of practice (CoP) and a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) as the seminal aspect of this effort to support cybersecurity capacity building and sustainability. In addition to growing a TCU CI/cybersecurity CoP and NIC, AIHEC is advising the TCUs in making informed decisions when selecting providers and partners to support and strengthening their cybersecurity position and reducing their risk profile. Experiences and best practices are shared through the TCU CI/cybersecurity CoP, thus leveraging TCU experiences and lessons learned. The TCUs have small, under-resourced IT departments too limited to assess, secure, and monitor the network vulnerabilities that expose the education and research missions of the institution. This state puts their entire curriculum, including STEM and language and culture preservation, at risk for security breaches. As part of this initiative, AIHEC is developing shared resources such as a TCU-specific cybersecurity assessment framework and supporting the development of a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) and virtual Security Operations Center (vSOC) at a TCU through the CI/Cybersecurity CoP. In addition to creating a more secure and aware environment, these enhancements will allow TCU administration, faculty and staff to increase their focus on the academic and research missions of their institutions. A cybersecurity strategy that guides the entire TCU community in a comprehensive short and long-term, cybersecurity posture will lower the TCU community’s threat level. AIHEC is a member of the recently NSF-funded Minority Serving Cyberinfrastructure Consortium (MS-CC) and will be closely collaborating with consortium members in this initiative. 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.