Capitol College took the next step in the evolution of its cybersecurity program when it
welcomed Lockheed Martin to campus on Tuesday, April 26, for the presentation of the company’s white paper titled “University Cyber Lab/Range Capabilities.” The paper is a comprehensive study which describes common system attack scenarios, educates students and educational professionals on these attacks, and protects against them when possible.
Haden Land, vice president and chief technology officer for Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems and Global Solutions Civil Product Line business, spoke at the event and noted the ever-increasing number of cyber threats in the United States.
“Today there are over 1 million new malicious sites per month and more than 100 nations have offensive cyber operations as part of their national security fabric,” Land said.
During his speech, Land also presented a generous donation to Capitol’s information assurance program and Cyber Battle Lab. Dr. Michael Wood, president; Dr. Vic Maconachy, vice president for academic affairs; and Dr. Michael Gibbs, vice president for advancement; accepted the gift on behalf of the college community.
Lockheed’s white paper complements Capitol’s Cyber Battle Lab, which is one of Maryland’s foremost programs for cybersecurity information. At the lab, students learn to detect, analyze and eliminate cyber threats, identical to the ones experienced by major corporations everyday.
With continued support from Lockheed Martin, Capitol students graduate with an understanding of workforce demands and are well suited to succeed in the information assurance (IA) industry.
“I can attest first hand with my colleagues here today that Capitol College is at the forefront of education in the cybersecurity arena: we have seen the successful implementation of the Emerging STEM Leaders Program, formation of an Information Assurance doctoral degree program, and opening of the Cyber Battle Lab,” Land said. “These activities have positioned Capitol College and partner institutions to better prepare our future information assurance professionals as they enter the workforce.”
The foundation for the white paper event was conceptualized two years ago at Capitol’s first President’s Forum event held at the National Press Club, where leaders from the IA industry gathered to discuss shared concerns. At that time, Maconachy urged those in attendance to use academia, specifically Capitol College, as a third party to break down and coalesce the existing silos of excellence in cybersecurity and to continue discussions and research about cyber attack preparedness. Lockheed Martin has continued to heed Capitol’s call.
Capitol College offers a bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in information assurance. The comprehensive curriculum coupled with Capitol’s Cyber Battle Lab, provides graduates with an understanding of industry expectations and challenges.
“With the information provided in the Lockheed Martin paper on ‘Cyber Battle Lab/range and Capabilities,’ our students and faculty will be able to engage hands-on learning to deal with real-life scenarios of cyber attack and defense,” Wood said.
“The white paper is another enabler to supplement the work we have done together to build our capabilities, and it serves as a launch pad for new creative work on cyber solutions.”