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Accessible Cybersecurity Education for Engineering Students

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Curricular Innovations in Computing - 1

Tagged Division

Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE)

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42554

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42554

Download Count

201

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Paper Authors

biography

Mai Abdelhakim University of Pittsburgh - Main Campus

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Mai Abdelhakim is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). She received her PhD in electrical engineering from Michigan State University (MSU), and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electronics and communications engineering from Cairo University. Her research leverages stochastic modeling, information theory and machine learning to model and design secure, reliable, and efficient Internet of Things and cyber-physical systems. Following her PhD, she was a postdoctoral research associate at MSU, where she worked on developing reliable communication networks in hostile environments. She later was a research scientist at OSRAM research center working on Internet of Things protocols, authentication mechanisms, and indoor positioning systems. Her research interests include cybersecurity, cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence, and reliable decision-making under uncertainty.

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biography

Samuel J. Dickerson University of Pittsburgh Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-2281-5115

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Dr. Samuel Dickerson is an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. His general research interests are in the areas of electronics, circuits and embedded systems. He specializes in the deisgn of multi-physics cyber-physical systems. Dr. Dickerson has also made several contributions to engineering education research. He currently investigates the use of reflection in engineering classrooms.

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Abstract

Along with the ever-increasing adoption of connected systems in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT), there is a pressing need for preparing engineers and other technology professionals to address the growing cybersecurity challenges. Nowadays, cybersecurity education is needed not only for cybersecurity specialists but also for anyone who works with technology, especially in critical infrastructure (such as energy systems or healthcare). However, there is an evident gap in cybersecurity skills due to the dearth of accessible classes on the topic for non-specialists. This is particularly important because major attacks on critical IoT systems originate from vulnerabilities introduced by human error (via social engineering, phishing emails, etc.), committed by engineers and other professionals who are not cybersecurity experts. Hence, effective cybersecurity education aimed at a broad audience of engineering students is crucial. One way to achieve this is to offer accessible cybersecurity courses that are open to students from different backgrounds, departments, and/or majors. The challenge here is to design accessible courses while giving students the hands-on experience needed for effective learning with minimal prerequisites. In this paper, we present methods to navigate through some of the challenges resulting from removing typical prerequisites, and the trade-off between breadth and depth. Specifically, we apply this method in an undergraduate information security course in engineering that covers network security, while many students do not have computer networks background prior to taking the course. We combined two different approaches for hands-on exercises on network firewalls. The first one is a video gaming approach (CyberCIEGE), and the second one is based on setting up multiple virtual machines (SEED labs). Students are surveyed to indicate how they perceived the different hands-on methods. We analyze the results (from surveys and exam questions) to demonstrate the impact of removing typical prerequisites and the effectiveness of the hands-on methods.

Abdelhakim, M., & Dickerson, S. J. (2023, June), Accessible Cybersecurity Education for Engineering Students Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42554

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