Contact: Phil Hearn
Mississippi State will open a state-of-the-art computer security laboratory in its business college Wednesday [Nov. 3] as part of a cross-campus effort to prepare more students for combat against the growing threat of cybercrime.
The noon ribbon-cutting ceremony in 207 McCool Hall officially unveils a new lab created through a novel collaboration between the College of Business and Industry and MSU's nationally recognized Center for Computer Security Research.
The CCSR is channeling $75,000 in National Science Foundation funding to the business college over two years to equip the facility for use in an information security course offered by the management and information systems department.
"It became apparent that a lecture course alone would not be as effective for business students as would a course supplemented by a hands-on laboratory," said Ray Vaughn, computer science professor and CCSR director.
Vaughn said the business lab--MSU's third teaching and research lab dedicated to security--represents a "unique cross-college collaboration" that serves as a "model seldom seen." The other campus labs, including a computer forensics laboratory, are housed in the computer science and engineering department, which is a part of the Bagley College of Engineering.
"This lab will present an opportunity for college of business students to obtain state-of-the-art training via laboratory exercises directed toward information security," said Kirk Arnett, management and information systems professor and lab director. "It will serve to strengthen the existing cooperative relationships between the two colleges."
Arnett said the new lab includes 12 student work stations, three servers, biometric devices, routers and switches, and forensics hardware coupled with modern software--all designed to improve the business college's teaching, research and service missions.
"The lab will be air-gapped from the real world Internet so that projects that are conducted in the lab cannot propagate to the real Internet," he added.
Arnett already teaches a new business systems security management course that closely examines information technology security issues. He said this course, as well as undergraduate and graduate courses associated with the business information systems program, will use the new lab.
"Students who complete these courses should be able to immediately influence security awareness and preparations in companies where they will be employed," he said.
Arnett said five doctoral students and four faculty members in the management and information systems department have begun specialization in various aspects of security research. As a result, he predicted that the new lab will enhance those research efforts.
Vaughn noted the business college made a commitment to enter into the computer security area three years ago and built a course offering for their students focusing on information technology management for secure computing.
"Last year, we submitted a proposal to the National Science Foundation to increase the capacity of our computer security research program," he said. "The cooperative effort across colleges at MSU shows how interdisciplinary our security program has become and that contributions to solving security problems can come from many different academic programs."
Arnett said he will operate the lab with students provided by the CCSR's Scholarship for Service program. He said he is anticipating that some 50 students from computer science, business information systems and the information systems graduate program will be enrolled in the new class. Space permitting, junior-level students from accounting, criminal justice and other academic disciplines also may enroll, he added.
"In short time, faculty who teach these subjects and students who complete these security courses and work with the lab facilities will be able to help local citizens and businesses address security needs," he asserted.
For more information, contact Vaughn at (662) 325-7450 or Ray Vaughn. Arnett may be reached at 325-3928 or Kirk Arnett.