Spring Break
The Daily OrangeSU helps fund high school course on cyber security
By Peter de Montmollin
Posted: 3/27/06, 11:34 PM EST Section: News
Students at Rome Catholic School are currently enrolled in a pilot cyber security course, funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y., and Syracuse University.
The course, which began Jan. 31, was offered to RCS sophomores, juniors and seniors for high school credit.
Students in the class are taught a variety of topics, including encryption and data protection, computer networking and security and ethical and legal concepts of cyber defense, said RCS Principal Chris Mominey.
"Kids are pretty computer savvy these days." Mominey said. "We are meeting (their) standards."
Kamal Jabbour, a professor of computer science and engineering at SU and principle computer engineer at the lab, said he developed the course curriculum in response to President George W. Bush's "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace."
The president's strategy, released in 2003, called for a public-private partnership for the defense of cyberspace.
After developing the course, Jabbour asked RCS to host the pilot. Eventually, a three-way partnership with SU, the lab and RCS formed to test it.
"The university has a long-time relationship with the Air Force research lab in Rome," said Eric Spina, dean of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science. That relationship has made clear the importance of cyber security, he said.
"We need more people who are arching their education towards engineering and computer science," Spina said. "(The cyber security course) gets them on target for engineering and computer science degrees."
The initial plan was to gradually expand the course, with the hopes of making it part of high school curriculums nationwide, Jabbour said.
However, the involvement of Project Advance, a partnership between the university and local high schools that allows eligible seniors to take SU courses in their schools for credit, has sped up the process.
"We are always on the lookout for new and innovative courses," said Gerald Edmonds, the project's director. This will be the fourth computer engineering program offered by SU through Project Advance.
The course, which began Jan. 31, was offered to RCS sophomores, juniors and seniors for high school credit.
Students in the class are taught a variety of topics, including encryption and data protection, computer networking and security and ethical and legal concepts of cyber defense, said RCS Principal Chris Mominey.
"Kids are pretty computer savvy these days." Mominey said. "We are meeting (their) standards."
Kamal Jabbour, a professor of computer science and engineering at SU and principle computer engineer at the lab, said he developed the course curriculum in response to President George W. Bush's "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace."
The president's strategy, released in 2003, called for a public-private partnership for the defense of cyberspace.
After developing the course, Jabbour asked RCS to host the pilot. Eventually, a three-way partnership with SU, the lab and RCS formed to test it.
"The university has a long-time relationship with the Air Force research lab in Rome," said Eric Spina, dean of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science. That relationship has made clear the importance of cyber security, he said.
"We need more people who are arching their education towards engineering and computer science," Spina said. "(The cyber security course) gets them on target for engineering and computer science degrees."
The initial plan was to gradually expand the course, with the hopes of making it part of high school curriculums nationwide, Jabbour said.
However, the involvement of Project Advance, a partnership between the university and local high schools that allows eligible seniors to take SU courses in their schools for credit, has sped up the process.
"We are always on the lookout for new and innovative courses," said Gerald Edmonds, the project's director. This will be the fourth computer engineering program offered by SU through Project Advance.
