Virginia Tech Hume Center Develops Cybersecurity Professionals by Offering “Real World” Research Opportunities

If your working within the cybersecurity industry and trying to fill positions you have experienced the difficulty in finding qualified technical talent. In my own experience, mid-level cyber engineering jobs can be open for 6-9 months, and when you find a strong candidate, the cost for the resource is significantly higher than in previous years because many companies are vying for the same labor pool. According to a study conducted by ISC2, there will be a 1.8M talent shortage by 2022 a rate of annual increase of 25% since 2015.1 This is a significant global problem.

Virginia Tech is rising to meet the challenge by creating an impressive pipeline of talented cyber professionals. The Virginia Tech educational environment offers highly skilled academic staff, a cyber curriculum that builds current foundational knowledge, and research opportunities that develop new innovative approaches for solving complex cybersecurity challenges. 

This week I had the pleasure of participating in the 2019 National Cybersecurity Education Program Colloquium. At the event, several speakers were covering interesting cybersecurity topics. Following the speakers, each student team presented their cybersecurity research. The student teams offered interesting insights through their research while showing a genuine excitement for the work they were doing.

 After the presentations, I had the pleasure of walking the event floor, meeting the students, and asking questions about their research projects. There was a student team that researched the possibility of authenticating wireless devices using radio frequency watermarks. This approach offers the potential for authenticating devices that extends beyond the device Subscriber Identity Module. Another team analyzed the use of neural networks for obtaining an AES encryption key by using a side channel attack. The student research projects were relevant and timely. There was even a team that analyzed statistical approaches for identifying fake news. 

The event ended with a keynote address from Dr. Clancy who is the Executive Director of the Hume Center. Dr. Clancy discussed his predictions for new disruptive technologies that will impact cybersecurity. Dr. Clancy discussed the impacts of machine learning and artificial intelligence, 5G, and supply chain.

The event was exciting and gave me hope that there are an outstanding set of new graduates that could fill the cybersecurity talent shortage and help defend our nation and business’s intellectual property.

Reference

1.ISC2. “Cybersecurity Talent Shortage Takes Center Stage at ISC2 Security Congress”. Aug 2017. Digital Media. 

https://www.isc2.org/News-and-Events/Press-Room/Posts/2017/08/10/Cybersecurity-Skills-Shortage-Takes-Center-Stage-at-ISC2-Security-Congress