Javaid, A., & Niyaz, Q., & Czerniak, C., & Paheding, S. (2022, August), Introducing Cybersecurity in a Discrete Structures Course Through a Visualization-based Plug-and-Play Cryptography Module  Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41717

\bibitem{asee_peer_41717}
  Javaid, A., \& Niyaz, Q., \& Czerniak, C., \& Paheding, S. (2022, August), \emph{Introducing Cybersecurity in a Discrete Structures Course Through a Visualization-based Plug-and-Play Cryptography Module}
  Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Minneapolis, MN.
  10.18260/1-2--41717

Ahmad Javaid, Quamar Niyaz, Charlene Czerniak, and Sidike Paheding.  "Introducing Cybersecurity in a Discrete Structures Course Through a Visualization-based Plug-and-Play Cryptography Module".  2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN, 2022, August.  ASEE Conferences, 2022.  https://peer.asee.org/41717 Internet.  15 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_41717}
  Ahmad Javaid, Quamar Niyaz, Charlene Czerniak, and Sidike Paheding.
  "Introducing Cybersecurity in a Discrete Structures Course Through a Visualization-based Plug-and-Play Cryptography Module".
  \emph{2022 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Minneapolis, MN, 2022, August}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2022.
  https://peer.asee.org/41717 Internet.  15 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_41717
author = "Ahmad Javaid, Quamar Niyaz, Charlene Czerniak, and Sidike Paheding"
title = "Introducing Cybersecurity in a Discrete Structures Course Through a Visualization-based Plug-and-Play Cryptography Module"
booktitle = "2022 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2022"
month = "August"
address = "Minneapolis, MN"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/41717}
number = {10.18260/1-2--41717}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Introduction: 
Over the past few decades, we have observed numerous cyber-crimes targeting Businesses, Government Organizations, and mainly individuals. As students are easy targets of these cybercrimes [1], there is a need to educate them on cybersecurity trends [2][3]. This work mainly focuses on developing an interactive framework developed in Unity 3D engine that explains RSA Cryptography Algorithm and its uses, using the underlying discrete mathematics [4] using the mathematical concepts of Discrete Structures course. Therefore, this project will focus on the framework for interactive and engaging cybersecurity education and its cognitive evaluation. If this subject is delivered to younger users as an interactive tutorial using game-based principles, it will be learned in a much entertaining way.

Goals and Objectives:
This work aims to engage students in learning cryptography usage in the Discrete Structures course while learning its mathematical concepts. It will give students a good understanding of how to encrypt or decrypt the data using the mathematical concepts of Discrete Structures. Towards this, we have developed an interactive visualized framework for the Discrete Structures course that the instructors can use for that particular course. This framework is designed to be used in a UG-level Discrete Structures course. To work on this course, students don’t require any technical knowledge or additional software but must be familiar with some fundamental mathematical theorems. The modules are intended to be completed within a semester. The framework can be offered to the students as an assignment at the end of the semester to achieve this goal. We use the Unity 3D engine platform due to its popularity in Digital Game-Based Learning. This framework helps students to use their observatory skills and become proactive and vigilant in identifying cyber threats.

Research Methodology and Activities: To develop this module, we used the Unity 3D engine game development platform [5]. The “RSA Algorithm” is the main topic covered in this module and contains cryptography and mathematical basics as sub-topics. To help the student better understand RSA Algorithm, we included an introduction section that provides general information for RSA Algorithm, its usage, interaction, and a quiz to test its understanding. To test user learning of “Cryptography and Mathematical basics”, we present five questions to the user, selected randomly from a database of 10 questions saved in an XML file. Each question is of multiple-choice type. For the “RSA Introduction” section, we present the basics of the RSA Algorithm and how it can be used to encrypt/decrypt data. This is accomplished using examples and characters such as Alice, Bob, and Eve. The “RSA Interactive” section has an interactive exercise where users are provided with step-by-step instructions on encrypting and decrypting the messages. Users must then solve the given problems based on their knowledge gained from the previous sections. This serves as an excellent hands-on experience where students can encrypt/decrypt the messages using the RSA Algorithm. The “RSA Real-World Example” section demonstrates the working of the RSA Algorithm by using a real-life scenario. Finally, the “RSA Algorithm Quiz” is used as an assessment module. We conducted two pre- and two post-surveys of general cybersecurity awareness and the RSA Algorithm for detailed testing of the module. A positive outcome was observed from the results of the survey after using the interactive visualization hands-on module.

References:
1.	“A national talent strategy: Ideas for securing u.s. competitiveness and economic growth,”  in  Ideas  For  Securing  U.S.Competitiveness  and  Economic  Growth.Microsoft, 2012.
2.	Melissa  Dark  and  Jelena  Mirkovic. Evaluation theory and practice applied to cybersecurity education.IEEE Security & Privacy, 13(2):75–80, 2015.
3.	Trudy  Howles,  Carol  Romanowski,  Sumita  Mishra,  and  Rajendra  KRaj.   A holistic, modular approach to infuse cybersecurity into undergraduate computing degree programs.  In Annual Symposium On Information Assurance (ASIA), Albany, NY, pages 7–8. Citeseer, 2011.
4.	Xin  Zhou and  Xiaofei  Tang.    Research and implementation of  RSA algorithm for encryption and decryption. In Proceedings of 2011 6th International Forum on Strategic Technology, volume 2, pages 1118–1121, 2011
5.	Unity. (2020)Unity scenes. [Online]. Available:https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/CreatingScenes.html
AU  - Ahmad Javaid
AU  - Quamar Niyaz
AU  - Charlene Czerniak
AU  - Sidike Paheding
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Introducing Cybersecurity in a Discrete Structures Course Through a Visualization-based Plug-and-Play Cryptography Module
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/41717
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--41717
ER  -