College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Computer Science and Information Technology Department will host a day of education and training to expand cybersecurity knowledge, Friday, April 28. Idaho Cyber Range Day, hosted at the College’s Security Operations Center (SOC) at the Ada County Center Pintail Building, will showcase cybersecurity activities and presentations with college students across the state.
In 2020, the eight colleges in Idaho agreed to work collaboratively to enhance and expand cybersecurity education through the Idaho Cybersecurity Education and Training Range. One significant focus of the effort is to expand cybersecurity education labs and classrooms, including the creation of a SOC at each campus.
According to Idaho Cyber Range’s mission statement, the training is “to sustainably provide collaborative infrastructure and instructional technologies that empower our institutions of higher education to meet their program objectives and prepare world-class cybersecurity professionals. The Idaho Cyber Range combines state-of-the-art capabilities and security best practices that enable scalable protected enclaves for high-fidelity simulations of real-world threats, attacks, defenses, and responses.”
On April 28, students participating in these courses work together to develop presentations and exercises that can be performed utilizing the Idaho Cyber Range on each of the respective campuses across the state.
Cyber Range Day invites students within their first two years of college to take part in various science, technology, engineering, math, and cybersecurity activities. Students at one of the Idaho campuses will use video-conference technology to connect to another campus for an activity or a presentation.
Statewide, each campus has a significant number of resources, computing power, networking, and classrooms. Idaho Range Day is intended to show off this technology and what students have been able to learn. Leaders with Idaho Cyber Range plan to host another similar event in the fall for the public to attend.
Idaho Cyber Range Day
Friday, April 28
Ada County Center Pintail Building, Security Operations Center (SOC)
For those with questions or in need of more information, please contact Sara Hoyt at sarahoyt@cwi.edu.