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NSA Designates Portland State as "Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education"
The National Security Agency (NSA) has designated Portland State University as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education for the academic years 2003-2006.
NSA granted this year's designations following a rigorous review of university applications against published criteria based on training standards established by the National Security Telecommunications and Information Systems Security Committee (NSTISSC). Formal presentations will be made June 3, 2003, in Washington, D.C., at the 2003 Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education. PSU is the only university in Oregon or Washington to be recognized, and one of approximately 50 in the United States.
NSA's program is intended to reduce vulnerabilities in the national information infrastructure by promoting higher education in information assurance and producing a growing number of professionals with information assurance expertise in various disciplines. Information assurance education plays a critical role in protecting the national information infrastructure. The Centers are key to having security solutions keep pace with evolving technology now and into the future. The Centers also provide great geographic dispersion of information assurance education across the country, building expertise where the national information infrastructures reside.
"Being a NSA Center of Excellence in IA gives our computer security and digital forensics program great national viability and qualifies PSU students and faculty for designated NSA funding," said Sarah Mocas, computer science faculty and director of PSU's Laboratory for Digital Forensics and Security Research in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. "We've had a strong program that has developed over the last seven years and will continue to grow as a regional center in information assurance."
Portland State's program works with computer science faculty as well as with adjunct instructors from local law enforcement agencies and security-related companies, whose added expertise help produce a program of considerable breadth and depth. PSU has partnered with the Hillsboro Police Department (HPD) in the area of digital forensics to build curriculum and publish articles, and has also been an active participant in HPD's innovative Police Reserves Specialist program.
In March, Portland State University's Department of Computer Science received notice that its curriculum in computer security meets the strict certification standards set by the NSA's National INFOSEC Education and Training Programs, which evaluated several core classes at PSU during the certification process. Courses at PSU include Cryptography, Introduction to Computer Security, Malicious Code and Forensics (computer viruses), Introduction to Computer Forensics, Network Management and Security and others. Information about these courses can be found at www.cs.pdx.edu. Portland State's program, a master's in computer science with a concentration in security, is the only one to be certified in Oregon or Washington and one of only a few nationally.
PSU's Computer Science department, through the Oregon University System, is also taking a leadership role in the development of Oregon Regional Alliance for Infrastructure and Network Security (RAINS), a public/private partnership promoting the growth of the homeland security industry in Oregon. PSU's Sarah Mocas serves as the OUS research representative to the RAINS-NET steering committee, a project of RAINS focused on secure communications. Internet Resources: Portland State Department of Computer Science: www.cs.pdx.edu National Security Agency: www.nsa.gov Oregon RAINS: www.oregonrains.org
NSA granted this year's designations following a rigorous review of university applications against published criteria based on training standards established by the National Security Telecommunications and Information Systems Security Committee (NSTISSC). Formal presentations will be made June 3, 2003, in Washington, D.C., at the 2003 Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education. PSU is the only university in Oregon or Washington to be recognized, and one of approximately 50 in the United States.
NSA's program is intended to reduce vulnerabilities in the national information infrastructure by promoting higher education in information assurance and producing a growing number of professionals with information assurance expertise in various disciplines. Information assurance education plays a critical role in protecting the national information infrastructure. The Centers are key to having security solutions keep pace with evolving technology now and into the future. The Centers also provide great geographic dispersion of information assurance education across the country, building expertise where the national information infrastructures reside.
"Being a NSA Center of Excellence in IA gives our computer security and digital forensics program great national viability and qualifies PSU students and faculty for designated NSA funding," said Sarah Mocas, computer science faculty and director of PSU's Laboratory for Digital Forensics and Security Research in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. "We've had a strong program that has developed over the last seven years and will continue to grow as a regional center in information assurance."
Portland State's program works with computer science faculty as well as with adjunct instructors from local law enforcement agencies and security-related companies, whose added expertise help produce a program of considerable breadth and depth. PSU has partnered with the Hillsboro Police Department (HPD) in the area of digital forensics to build curriculum and publish articles, and has also been an active participant in HPD's innovative Police Reserves Specialist program.
In March, Portland State University's Department of Computer Science received notice that its curriculum in computer security meets the strict certification standards set by the NSA's National INFOSEC Education and Training Programs, which evaluated several core classes at PSU during the certification process. Courses at PSU include Cryptography, Introduction to Computer Security, Malicious Code and Forensics (computer viruses), Introduction to Computer Forensics, Network Management and Security and others. Information about these courses can be found at www.cs.pdx.edu. Portland State's program, a master's in computer science with a concentration in security, is the only one to be certified in Oregon or Washington and one of only a few nationally.
PSU's Computer Science department, through the Oregon University System, is also taking a leadership role in the development of Oregon Regional Alliance for Infrastructure and Network Security (RAINS), a public/private partnership promoting the growth of the homeland security industry in Oregon. PSU's Sarah Mocas serves as the OUS research representative to the RAINS-NET steering committee, a project of RAINS focused on secure communications. Internet Resources: Portland State Department of Computer Science: www.cs.pdx.edu National Security Agency: www.nsa.gov Oregon RAINS: www.oregonrains.org
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