Center for Cyber Security Education

Dr. Bob Duhainy, PhD
PhD, Walden University; MS, BS Southern Methodist University

Dr. Duhainy is a Core faculty of Computer Networks and Cyber security at the College of Management and Technology at Walden University, director of the center of Cyber security Education, and a dissertation chair at the Doctor of Information Technology program. For his Ph.D. dissertation, he has worked on developing the most effective approach for deploying a context- and location-aware network, which is particularly important to the U.S. government as it will allow hands-off processing and the tracking of medical supplies and weaponry. His research focused on RFID deployment methods, minimizing the required number of passive and active tags, and the power requirements needed to operate the networks. His research work includes using software agents to safe guard computer networks from attack. He is also involved in various security-related research projects, Virtual Reality Interoperability and Security, Multi Factor Authentication, Radio Waves Interference, Nefarious Code Detection, and System Vulnerabilities and Assessments. He is a member of the IEEE, ACM , ISC2 Cisco Networking Academy, AFCEA, NICE, CISSE and NIST. Dr. Duhainy has been an active member of the InfraGard-Boston chapters. He was trained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI) on various topics, and actively serves as a state and local government groups on cybersecurity topics. He is also a frequent invited as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on cybersecurity topics.

Dr. Duhainy’s teaching interest and courses taught at the Master’s and Doctoral levels include Ethical Hacking tools and incident handling techniques, legal issues in Cybercrime, Operating System and Network Architecture, Fundamentals of Information Assurance, Telecommunications and Networking, Information Assurance and Risk Management, Information and Systems Security, Computer Law, Crime, and Investigation, Information Security Governance, Seminar in Information Security, Development of Proactive and Reactive Security Plans.

Bob Duhainy, PhD
Core Faculty, 
School of Technology and Applied Science
Doctor of Information Technology (DIT)
Walden University 
100 Washington Avenue South, Suite 1210
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Tel: 1-866-492-5336
[email protected]u.edu

Welcome to the Codebreaker Challenge!

To get started, register for an account using your email address. Then, visit the Challenge page.

OVERVIEW

The Codebreaker Challenge consists of a series of tasks that are worth a varying amount of points based upon their difficulty. All tasks will become available immediately once the Challenge goes live and can be solved in any order, though there may be some dependencies between tasks. The point value associated with each task is based on relative difficulty and schools will be ranked according to the total number of points accumulated by their students. It is still recommended to solve tasks in order since the tasks flow with the storyline, but that is not a requirement. Solutions may be submitted at any time for the duration of the Challenge. Good luck!

BACKGROUND

DISCLAIMER - The following is a FICTITIOUS story meant for providing realistic context for the Codebreaker Challenge and is not tied in any way to actual events.

Tech savvy terrorists have developed a new suite of communication tools to use for attack planning purposes. Their most recent creation — TerrorTime — is a secure mobile chat application that runs on Android devices. This program is of particular interest since recent intelligence suggests the majority of their communications are happening via this app. Your mission is to reverse-engineer and develop new exploitation capabilities to help discover and thwart future attacks before they happen. There are 7 tasks of increasing difficulty that you will be working through as part of this challenge. Ultimately, you will be developing capabilities that will enable the following:

1. Spoof TerrorTime messages
2. Masquerade (i.e., authenticate) as TerrorTime users without knowledge of their credentials
3. Decrypt TerrorTime chat messages

NICE Challenge Project

We bring students the workforce experience before the workforce.

The NICE Challenge Project develops real-world cybersecurity challenges within virtualized business environments that bring students the workforce experience before the workforce. Our goal is to provide the most realistic experiences to students, at-scale year-round, while also generating useful assessment data about their knowledge, skills, and abilities for educators.

What is a NICE Challenge?

Each NICE Challenge has the following core elements: a narrative-driven scenario, a business environment (workspace), and a set of technical objectives and/or a written deliverable. Each of these elements is developed to immerse the player (student) in a real-world experience and create a valuable set of data allowing their curator (educator) to judge their readiness for the workforce.

There are currently two different types of NICE Challenges, technical and hybrid, which focus on different parts of the cybersecurity workforce.

PUBLISHED JOURNAL ARTICLES (2018-2020)

Burrell, D. N. Cybersecurity Workforce Development in Minority, Low Income, and Native American Reservation Communities. International Journal of Smart Education and Urban Society.

Burrell, D. N. Perspectives in Talent Management Strategies for Cybersecurity Job Roles in Public Safety and Health in Government Organizations. International Journal of Smart Education and Urban Society.

Burrell, D. N., Bhargava, N., Springs, D., Dawson, M., Burton, S. L. R., Anderson, D. P., Wright, J. B. (2020). Adopting Organizational Cultural Changes Concerning Whistle-Blowing in Healthcare Around Information Security in the “Internet of Things” World. International Journal of Hyperconnectivity and the Internet of Things, 4(1), 13-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijhiot.2020010102

Burrell, D. N. (2020). Teaching Graduate Technology Management Students With Innovative Learning Approaches Around Cybersecurity. International Journal of ICT Research in Africa and the Middle East, 9(1), 82-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijictrame.2020010105

Burrell, D. N. (2019). How Hiring Baby Boomers Can Assist with the Global Cybersecurity Employee Shortage. International Journal of Hyperconnectivity and the Internet of Things, 3(2), 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijhiot.2019070101

Burrell, D. N. (2019). Assessing the Value of Executive Leadership Coaches for Cybersecurity Project Managers. International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals, 10(2), 20-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijhcitp.2019040102

Burrell, D. N., Dattola, A., Dawson, M. E., Nobles, C. (2019). A Practical Exploration of Cybersecurity Faculty Development With Microteaching. International Journal of Applied Management Theory and Research, 1(1), 32-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijamtr.2019010103

Bhargava, N., Madala, M. K., Burrell, D. N. (2018). Emotional Acumen on the Propensity of Graduating Technology Students to Whistle-Blow About Organizational Cyber security Breaches. International Journal of Smart Education and Urban Society, 9(4), 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijseus.2018100101

Burrell, D. N. (2018). Exploring leadership coaching as a tool to improve the people management skills of information technology and cybersecurity project managers. HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, 9(2), 107-126. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/hjbpa-2018-0015

Burrell, D. N. (2018). An Exploration of the Critical Need for Formal Training in Leadership for Cybersecurity and Technology Management Professionals. International Journal of Hyperconnectivity and the Internet of Things, 2(1), 52-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijhiot.2018010105

Burrell, D. N. (2018). An Exploration of the Cybersecurity Workforce Shortage. International Journal of Hyperconnectivity and the Internet of Things, 2(1), 29-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijhiot.2018010103

Gould, D. A., Cleveland, S., Block, G. (2020). Evolutionary and Ideation Concepts for Cybersecurity Education. IGI-Global IJSEUS. www.igi-global.com/article/evolutionary-and-ideation-concepts-for-cybersecurity-education/242954

Gould, D. A. Organizational resilience approaches to cyber security. International Journal of Smart Education and Urban Society, 53-62. https://www.igi-global.com/article/organizational-resilience-approaches-to-cyber-security/214054

Gray, D., Tahlier, J. (2018). Survey helps begin conversation on using biometrics to deter financial aid fraud. Fraud Magazine, 33(1), 54-55. Not available online as it is only available in hard copy except to ACFE members

Harkiolakis, N. (2018). Cybersecurity policies and supporting regulations for maritime transportation system in the USA. Int. J. Teaching and Case Studies.

Igonor, A. S. (2020). A Mixed Public-Private Partnership Approach for Cyber Resilience of Space Technologies. In Critical Space Infrastructures: From Risk to Resilience. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series - D: Information and Communication Security, 57(120-130), 11.

Igonor, A. S. (2019). Cybersecurity Education: The Quest to Building Bridge Skills. The ISSA Journal, 17(8), 18-24.

Igonor, A. S. (2019). IOT Forensics Curriculum: Is It a Myth or Reality? Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law, 6.

Khan, H. (2020). Security Analysis of IoT Devices by Using Mobile Computing: A Systematic Literature Review. IEEEAccess, 8(1).

Khan, H. (2020). Spam detection approach for secure mobile messages communication using machine learning algorithms. Security and Communication Networks, 2020.

Khan, H. (2020). Modelling Features-Based Birthmarks for Security of End-to-End Communication System. Security and Communication Networks, 2020.

Khan, H., Al Share, K. A. (2019). Violators versus Non-Violators of Information Security Measures in Organizations – A Study of Distinguishing Factors. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 29(1), 4-23.

Banerjee, S. K., Radak, T. L., Khubchandani, J., Dunn, P. J. (2020). Food Insecurity and Mortality in American Adults: Results From the NHANES-Linked Mortality Study. Health promotion practice, 1524839920945927.

Talpade, M. S. (2019). Characteristics of cybersecurity victims at Clark Atlanta University. Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine, 17, 159-162.

BOOK CHAPTERS (2018-2020)

Bhatt, A. A. (2019). Chapter 13-Information Security and Confidentiality. Handbook of Informatics for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals. New York: Pearson.

Burrell, D. N. (2019). An Exploration of the Critical Need for Formal Training in Leadership for Cybersecurity and Technology Management Professionals. Human Performance Technology (pp. 1420-1432). IGI Global. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-8356-1.ch069

PRESENTATIONS (2018-2020)

Basta, A., National CyberWatch Center Curriculum Standards, "Computer Security and Penetration Testing," National CyberWatch Center Curriculum Standards. (February 21, 2018).

Maiden, R., Boyd, L., The National Council on Rehabilitation Education, "On Guard: Best Practices for Security of ePHI on Electronic Media Storage," San Diego, CA, United States. (April 19, 2019).

Igbonagwam, O., "DATA CENTER A METAPHOR FOR CLOUD COMPUTATION SECURITY, RELIABILITY, AND AVAILABILITY EFFECTS," International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD), Dallas, TX, Dallas, TX, United States. (April 20, 2019).

McKeeby, J. W., Rekik, I., Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics (SINI), "Rekik, I., McKeeby, J., (2018). Is My Organization Ready for a cybersecurity threat? Assessment and setting up plans.," University of Maryland, Nursing School, University of Maryland, Nursing School, Baltimore, MD. (2018).

McKeeby, J. W., Rekik, I., Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics (SINI)., "Rekik, I., McKeeby, J., (2018). Building a Security Management Plan for Networked Medical Devices," University of Maryland, Nursing School., Baltimore, MD, United States. (July 2018).

Mouras, T. A., Border Patrol and Cybersecurity Webinar., "Border Patrol and Cybersecurity Webinar." (April 26, 2019).

Talpade, M. S., Cyberpsychology conference, "Characteristics of cybersecurity victims at Clark Atlanta University," Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, United States. (June 24, 2019).

Advancing Cybersecurity Risk Management Conference

Gaithersburg, MD | May 27-28, 2020

The 2020 Advancing Cybersecurity Risk Management Conference is a continuation of the annual Cybersecurity Framework Workshops, and we’ve added even more topics and stakeholder groups associated with NIST projects:

• Risk Management Framework
• Supply Chain Risk Management
• Privacy Engineering

EVENT DETAILS

CAE VIRTUAL CAREER FAIR 2020

Virtual | September 4, 2020

The Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cybersecurity Community is hosting the fourth annual CAE Virtual Career Fair (VCF), sponsored by NCyTE and the National Science Foundation (NSF), on September 4, 2020, from 9:00am-1:00pm PT. Our virtual career fair is unique in that we invite students/alumni from 300+ institutions designated as CAEs in Research (CAE-R), Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE), and Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) to participate. Institutions receive the CAE in Cybersecurity designation after meeting the rigorous requirements of the program set forth by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The standards set forth by the NSA/DHS curriculum guidelines also ensure students from CAE institutions receive a quality cybersecurity education that prepares them for a career the cyber workforce.

EVENT DETAILS

ANNUAL NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY SUMMIT

Virtual | Weekly Events at 2:00pm ET

• Wednesday, September 16: Key Cyber Insights
• Wednesday, September 23: Leading the Digital Transformation
• Wednesday, September 30: Diversity in Cybersecurity
• Wednesday, October 7: Defending our Democracy

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is hosting the 3rd Annual National Cybersecurity Summit. The Cybersummit will bring together stakeholders from across the country for a four-week series focused on CISA’s mission to “Defend Today, Secure Tomorrow” with presentations from targeted leaders across government, academia, and industry.

The Cybersummit is intended to be an inclusive event and will be particularly valuable for senior leaders, CISOs, general counsels, and policy experts at public and private sector organizations who have shown a commitment to advancing cybersecurity and risk management discussions.

This is a no-cost event but pre-registration is required.

EVENT DETAILS

CAE IN Cybersecurity Symposium

Virtual | November 19-20, 2020

Please join us for the annual CAE in Cybersecurity Symposium on November 19-20, 2020. The CAE in Cybersecurity Symposium provides community members and applicants the opportunity to network, receive community updates, and present their research to the community. The symposium is open to all existing Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE), Centers of Academic Excellence in Research (CAE-R), and Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO), as well as government representatives and invitees. Registration is also open to institutions that have applied for CAE designation or are in the process of applying.

Attending the event is free, but registration is required in advance to gain access to the conference. Onsite registration is discouraged as you will not be eligible for travel assistance. The CAE-C Program Office approves each registration. Therefore, to make sure you are authorized to attend, register by November 12th, 2020.

EVENT DETAILS

Space Cybersecurity Symposium

Virtual | May 5, 2021

Cybersecurity measures and policies are ubiquitous in the design, development, delivery, and operation of components supporting American space activities.

Join us on May 5 for a Department of Commerce (DOC) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) jointly hosted symposium to learn about the latest cyber threats to space infrastructure, existing space cybersecurity policies, and industry cybersecurity experience and mitigation strategies. Information will be tailored to emerging companies; however, all companies are welcome to participate.

This will be the first in an ongoing series of events to connect commercial space companies of all sizes with the Departments regarding cybersecurity measures and policies.

EVENT DETAILS

CAE Executive Leadership Forum (ELF)

Virtual | May 13, 2021

This one-day virtual event will be packed with important recent trends and new national initiatives in the cybersecurity space. The forum unites executive leadership from academia, industry, and government to seek collaborative strategies and solutions to advance cybersecurity. Work that can be accomplished because of the special relationships between a University President and the Institutions PI; allowing them the time and freedom to pursue their ideas to solve a national crisis in cybersecurity workforce education. The Executive Leadership Forum is intended for executive leaders. Should your President or Chancellor be unable to attend, we will welcome an executive from your institution (Dean or higher) to represent your institution. This year, the institution’s CAE PI are invited and asked to encourage their Executive Leadership to attend.

EVENT DETAILS

Women in Information Technology International (WITI)

Virtual | June 22-24, 2021

WITI (Women in Technology International) is committed to empowering innovators, inspiring future generations and building inclusive cultures. A leading authority of women in tech and business, WITI has been advocating and recognizing women's contributions in the industry for more than 30 years. The organization delivers leading edge programs and platforms for individuals and companies — designed to empower professionals, boost competitiveness and cultivate partnerships, globally. Our ecosystem includes more than 3 million professionals, 60 networks and 300 partners, worldwide.

EVENT DETAILS

WOMEN IN CYBERSECURITY CONFERENCE (WICYS)

Denver, CO | September 8-10, 2021

Join us for the largest cybersecurity conference where we have comparable representation of students and professionals in the audience.

The WiCyS conference will offer:

• Technical presentations
• Technical workshops
• Student Poster competitions (winners receive travel grants)
• Birds-of Feather discussions
• Career Village with mentoring and networking session
• Panel discussions
• Lightning talks
• Career and graduate school fair (expecting 100+ organizations)

Dedicated meet ups for:

• SFS Scholars
• WiCyS Students chapters
• WiCyS affiliates
• Faculty with funding agency leaders

Join WiCyS organization to access community portal, speaker bureau, career central among other member exclusive features.

EVENT DETAILS

Intelligence and National Security Summit

National Harbor, MD | September 13-14, 2021

The nation's premier intelligence and national security conference. The Intelligence and National Security Summit features powerful plenaries with senior IC leaders, engaging breakout sessions with top industry, academic, and government experts, and a virtual exhibit hall where you can learn about the latest technology innovations.

EVENT DETAILS

NATIONAL CYBER SUMMIT

Huntsville, AL | September 28-30, 2021

The National Cyber Summit is the nation’s most innovative cyber security-technology event, offering unique educational, collaborative and workforce development opportunities for industry visionaries and rising leaders. Our core focus is on two things: accessibility and connectivity.

EVENT DETAILS

CISSE COLLOQUIUM

Nashville, TN | October 4-6, 2021

As we draw closer to the quarter-century mark, the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE) continues to provide the sole forum in which the members of the academic field of cybersecurity gather to present and discuss emerging trends and ideas. Our government and industry partners join us to provide information on cyber issues they deal with on a regular basis. This balance serves to provide input for all our stakeholders to reinforce our shared mission.

EVENT DETAILS

Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week

Virtual | October 18-23, 2021

Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week is a week-long campaign to call attention to the contributions to society and innovations that cybersecurity practitioners make.

It is a time to build awareness about the wide range of cybersecurity job opportunities, how cybersecurity plays a vital role in the lives of Americans, and how building a national cybersecurity workforce enhances America’s national security and promotes economic prosperity.

EVENT DETAILS

COMMUNITY COLLEGE CYBER SUMMIT (3CS)

Dayton, OH | November 5-7, 2021

3CS is organized and produced by the National CyberWatch Center, National Resource Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA), CyberWatch West (CWW), and Broadening Advanced Technological Education Connections (BATEC), which are all funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The outcomes of 3CS leverage community college cybersecurity programs across the nation by introducing the latest technologies, best practices, curricula, products, and more.

EVENT DETAILS

NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference

Virtual | December 6-7, 2021

The NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference will feature timely and thought-provoking presentations that highlight effective collaborations, bold experiments and innovations, and other potentially game-changing methods in support of growing the cybersecurity workforce. Attendees will include training and educational leaders from academia, business, and government for two days of focused hands-on workshops and discussions in support of the NICE strategic goals: accelerate learning and skills development, nurture a diverse learning community, and guide career development and workforce planning.

EVENT DETAILS

NICE Conference and Expo

Atlanta, GA | June 6-8, 2022

The annual NICE Conference and Expo brings together thought leaders from industry, government, academia, and non-profit organizations to address the community's cybersecurity education, training, and workforce needs. This event provides an opportunity to share best practices from around the world and across sectors in order to build the workforce we need to confront cybersecurity risks today and in years to come.

EVENT DETAILS

Computers & Security:
https://ees.elsevier.com/cose/

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA):
https://www.cisa.gov/

CyberSeek:
https://www.cyberseek.org/

Department of Homeland Security | Cybersecurity:
https://www.dhs.gov/topic/cybersecurity

InfraGard Magazine:
https://infragardmagazine.com/

International Journal of Information and Learning Technology:
http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/journals.htm?id=ijilt

International Journal of Information Management:
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-information-management/

International Journal of Information Systems in the Service Sector (IJISSS):
https://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-information-systems-service/1099

Information Security Education Journal (ISEJ):
http://socio.org.uk/isej/

Journal of Cases in Information technology (JCIT):
https://www.igi-global.com/journal/journal-cases-information-technology-jcit/1075

National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC):
https://www.us-cert.gov/

National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force:
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber/national-cyber-investigative-joint-task-force

NSA | Central Security Services (CSS) Resources for Students & Educators Resources for Students & Educators:
https://www.nsa.gov/resources/students-educators/

NSA Cyber Exercise:
https://www.nsa.gov/What-We-Do/Cybersecurity/NCX/

NSA Student Programs:
https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/nsa/nsastudents.html