UA Little Rock receives $5 million to advance cybersecurity
April 22-28, 2024
By Angelita Faller
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock) has received $5 million in federal funding aimed at enhancing cybersecurity in the energy sector through education, workforce development, and innovation.
The award comes from appropriations language authored by U.S. Sen. John Boozman passed into law in December 2022. The funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response.
“Developing a workforce of skilled professionals to combat cybercrime is increasingly important,” Sen. Boozman said. “I’m proud to support this initiative to strengthen our state’s role in preventing cybersecurity attacks and create additional opportunities for Arkansans to safeguard critical energy networks.”
UA Little Rock is leading a cohort of partners that include the Consortium for Cyber Innovation, Forge Institute, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). The objectives include improving education, training, and workforce development for securing industrial control systems (ICS) against cybersecurity attacks, improving cybersecurity threat analysis and intelligence sharing, and creating an innovation startup program for cybersecurity in the energy sector.
“The energy sector, and electric utilities in particular, are on the front lines when it comes to nation-state cybersecurity attacks,” said Dr. Philip Huff, assistant professor of cybersecurity at UA Little Rock and principal investigator. “This groundbreaking initiative underscores UA Little Rock and our partners’ commitment to stay at the forefront of cybersecurity education and research, empowering students and researchers to address the complex challenges of the digital age. We are especially grateful to Sen. Boozman and the Department of Energy for helping Arkansas become better prepared for the growing threat of cybersecurity attacks in the energy sector.”
The Consortium for Cyber Innovation, which includes UA Little Rock, Forge Institute, UAPB, and community college partners in Arkansas, will be creating a competency-based certificate program in cyber-informed engineering tailored for the energy sector. These certificates will equip students with specialized skills tailored to meet the evolving demands of the cybersecurity landscape and will strengthen the cybersecurity expertise of operators, technicians, and engineers within the energy sector. The certificate program will integrate into existing computer science and cybersecurity programs at universities and community colleges within the Consortium for Cyber Innovation.
“This funding will enable UAPB to hire two cybersecurity instructors who will participate in formulation of not only certificate programs but also revise the course offering in the undergraduate cybersecurity program and graduate program in computer science and technology,” said Dr. Grant Wangila, interim dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at UAPB. “This investment also goes beyond filling the instructors; it enables faculty to engage with industry, government, schools, and colleges in developing these new programs in cyber-informed engineering.”
Photo Caption:
1. Dr. Phillip Huff
