{"id":111295,"date":"2020-07-23T10:45:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T14:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=111295"},"modified":"2022-05-17T09:24:27","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T13:24:27","slug":"the-invisible-line-of-cyberdefense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/the-invisible-line-of-cyberdefense\/","title":{"rendered":"The Invisible Line of Cyberdefense"},"content":{"rendered":"

In September 2018, Amazon released its third generation of the Echo Dot. For millions of consumers, it instantly became yet another connection into their personal smart hubs known as \u201cthe internet of things.\u201d Smartphones. Smart speakers. Smart TVs. Smart car entertainment systems. Smart dolls. We didn\u2019t forget you, laptops and tablets. All of these smarts creating a massive cloud of instant information.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I saw [at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½] is a future powerhouse university in the cybersecurity field. I wanted to be a part of realizing it.\u201d
\n\u2014 Yan Solihin, professor of computer science<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not everyone was completely enamored.<\/p>\n

Earlier in that same year, Yan Solihin had come to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ as the director of cybersecurity and privacy, and to lead the university\u2019s cybersecurity cluster<\/a>. Solihin had dedicated his career to the cyber race<\/a> \u2014 people with good intentions trying to stay two steps ahead of \u201cthe other people.\u201d Whenever he saw a new smart device introduced to the marketplace, he saw something else: another potential cyber gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can set up a computer with antivirus software and a firewall,\u201d says Solihin, \u201cbut now a smart refrigerator could be the vulnerable point for an attacker to target.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that begins to explain the reason behind Solihin\u2019s decision to leave his position as program director of the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF).<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw a need to ramp up the cybersecurity capabilities in the U.S., specifically the supply of talent,\u201d says Solihin. \u201cThe supply has lagged behind the demand. So I asked myself, \u2018Where can I achieve this? Where can I contribute to the future workforce in cybersecurity?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Solihin had read about Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s advancements in cybersecurity research and academia, and its national success in cyberdefense competitions<\/a>. He also heard of the school\u2019s commitment to invest in cybersecurity research, education, training, talent development, and to expand its collaboration with tech companies. During a visit to determine if this is the place where he could make a difference, he toured Central Florida Research Park and saw defense companies and government entities just around the corner from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s computer science labs and the Institute for Modeling and Simulation<\/a>. Faculty members told him about graduates, with a variety of degrees, doing cybersecurity work for giants like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Google, Amazon, Instagram, even for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I saw then,\u201d says Solihin, \u201cis a future powerhouse university in the cybersecurity field<\/a>. I wanted to be a part of realizing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Cyberdefense Powerhouse<\/h2>\n

The supply-demand gap that originally grabbed Solihin\u2019s attention is now more vivid than ever. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 112,000 jobs were available for information security analysts in 2019 and the field is forecast to grow 32 percent by 2028.<\/p>\n

Cyberdegreesedu.org ranked Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ among the top 30 colleges for cybersecurity programs in the U.S. \u2014 above Florida State, Cornell, Clemson, George Washington and Northwestern.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made significant advancements just since I\u2019ve been here,\u201d says Solihin. For example:<\/p>\n