Trusted CI at SFSCon 2021

SFSCon was on hiatus last year due to the pandemic, but it's back this year with a virtual format. SFSCon 2021, to be held November 5-7, will be the fourth annual cybersecurity training and professional development event organized by Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) for CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) students and alumni nationwide. This year SFSCon will use the U.S. Cyber Range for hands-on student training. Trusted CI will be providing Identity and Access Management training and Security Log Analysis training, as in previous years, with training materials updated for the virtual format.

Trusted CI at SFSCon 2019

Group Photo of SFSCon 2019 Participants

On September 27-29, Trusted CI participated in SFSCon 2019, the third annual cybersecurity training and professional development event at Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) for the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) students and alumni nationwide. 105 student attendees traveled to California from 42 universities across the country for this event organized by CPP Professor Mohammad Husain. In 2017, Trusted CI helped organize the CPP-CTSC SFS Cyberinfrastructure Security Workshop, the first event in this SFSCon series.

This year, Trusted CI's Barton P. Miller and Elisa Heymann provided a Software Assurance training for the students, and Trusted CI's Jim Basney and John Zage provided an Identity and Access Management training. Ishan Abhinit and Zalak Shah (CACR) also provided a Security Log Analysis training, using training materials developed by Trusted CI.

From 45 student attendees in 2017 to 105 student attendees in 2019, SFSCon is a growing success. It’s great to see the SFS program supporting the development of the next generation cybersecurity workforce. Trusted CI is proud to have the Cal Poly Pomona Scholarship for Service project as one of our partners.

Cal Poly Pomona Scholarship for Service Program Engagement

The Scholarship for Service (SFS) program is a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the NSF to grant 4-year colleges scholarship funds to encourage students to pursue cybersecurity as a career. Scholarship recipients agree to work for a qualifying federal or state government agency upon graduation as a means of returning the investment in their education with the additional benefit of strengthening critical government infrastructure. Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) received such a grant in 2015 and its program is headed by Professor Mohammad Husain.

Dr. Husain contacted CTSC to request an engagement to provide a hands-on experience in securing cyber infrastructure for the students in the CPP SFS program in the CPP PolySec Lab. After meeting to introduce one another and discuss engagement options, CTSC and CPP agreed to work together to conduct an on-site seminar at CPP for SFS students at CPP and other campuses that introduces the unique cybersecurity challenges of NSF cyberinfrastructure and provides practical training on cybersecurity topics in the areas of expertise of CTSC staff. CTSC staff will encourage the students to consider careers in trustworthy cyberinfrastructure. The seminar is scheduled to occur in mid-October.

We will announce more details about the seminar, and eligible students, as the information becomes available. To learn more about Cal Poly Pomona’s SFS program, see their site.