National CyberWatch Communicator | September Edition Volume 2

CSJ Fellows Peer Reviewer Workshop

Learn about publishing your research through the National CyberWatch Center’s Cybersecurity Skills Journal (CSJ) in the upcoming Fellows Peer Reviewer Virtual Brown Bag Lunch workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m., ET. Members of the CSJ editorial board will discuss its peer reviewer panels that assist authors in developing their research for a scholarly, rigorous, and relevant publication in the CSJ.

Innovations in Cybersecurity Education

The National CyberWatch Center is proud to present its third annual Innovations in Cybersecurity Education booklet. The publication highlights the creative and pioneering ideas of individuals and organizations around the country within one of five categories: Evidence-based Strategies, Instruction, Practice Program Development, and Honorable Mention.

View the publication HERE .

Escape from the Humdrum Cybersecurity Education Thinking

The winner in the Instruction category of the 2019 National CyberWatch Innovations in Cybersecurity Education awards & recognition program is “Thinking Outside the Box - Using Escape Room Games to Interest Teachers and Students in Cybersecurity.” The shortfall of cybersecurity students, teachers, and professionals worldwide requires innovative ways to boost interest of the field. A cybersecurity-based escape room challenges participants to interact with their surroundings to uncover clues while learning new cyber skills.

Read more about this Innovative submission on page 13 of the publication HERE .

Influence Cybersecurity Education

The National CyberWatch Curriculum Standards Panel needs volunteers. Make an impact, earn continuing professional education credits, earn attribution on open source content and assessments, and reap awards and recognition. The Panel was established in 2016 to identify objectives, concepts, procedures, situational judgments and intellective abilities required to develop capability maturity in cybersecurity foundational principles, techniques, tactics and protocols. Volunteers are needed to keep this work going to train future cybersecurity professionals.

For more information, visit HERE .

Call for Interns

The National CyberWatch Center Research and Assessments division has openings in its internship program. The Research department promotes, sponsors, and conducts research on cybersecurity education and workforce development with regard to a number of ongoing projects. Individuals will assist with preparing draft reports, managing project plans and schedules, collecting and analyzing data, and managing relationships with participants. This is an unpaid position that requires five to 10 hours of work per week with a flexible start time through May.

NSA Codebreaker Challenge

In this fictitious scenario, tech-savvy terrorists have developed a new suite of communication tools to use for attack planning purposes. Their most recent creation - TerrorTime - is a secure mobile chat application that runs on Android devices. This program is of particular interest since recent intelligence suggests the majority of their communications are happening via TerrorTime. Your mission is to reverse-engineer and develop new exploitation capabilities to help discover and thwart future attacks before they happen.

Learn more HERE .

Academics and Experts See Esport Potential for Cybersecurity

Much like professional sports, millions of fans watch professional video game players compete in tournaments. Just as that arena continues to grow, so too does the possibility that cybersecurity team competitions become a widely watched esport. Because of a mass shortage of experts and diversity in the cybersecurity world, these competitions as esports would be ideal for development, according to experts. The only problem is the lack of visual appeal for a typical hacking event, but there could be possibilities to make it appeal to the masses.

Read HERE for more information.

N00bSec to Cyber-Champion

Learn how to use Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions to launch your career in cybersecurity. WiCyS is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 11 a.m., on “N00bSec to Cyber-Champion: How I Used CTFs to Launch My Career in Cybersecurity.” Kaitlyn Bestenheider, senior information security associate for Tevora and chief player ambassador for the National Cyber League, will discuss how cyber CTFs prepared her for the real world more than any classroom lab work.