USNA News Article

USNA Course Increases Cyber Awareness Among Mids

Jan 6, 2012

By Jessica Clark, U.S. Naval Academy Public Affairs

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (NNS) -- Midshipmen who completed the Naval Academy's inaugural course on the basics of cyber security indicated that 95 percent were more aware of the threats facing them online as a result of the class according to a survey released Jan. 4.

Computer science professor Christopher Brown presented these survey results, along with an explanation of what the Midshipmen learned in the course, during a cyber security presentation for faculty and staff.

The Naval Academy is the only institution in the country that requires mandatory comprehensive cyber awareness training for all students.

The course is designed to teach Midshipmen the technical foundations of cyber security through lectures, demonstrations and hands-on activities. During the first part of the course, Midshipmen learned the components of what Brown referred to as the "cyber battlefield," including digital data, computer hardware, operating systems, programs and networks.

Midshipmen also learned formal models of what security means and what risk means for information systems and the tools used to provide security such as firewalls, digital certificates and different types of encryption.

Once Midshipmen have learned what they need to defend and what tools are available to them, they move on to learning how to defend and attack networks, culminating in a final series of labs in which two teams of students reconnoiter their opponent's network, attack it and attempt to defend their own.

“The seventeen instructors who taught the course faced a daunting task - a completely new course and curriculum with lectures, demonstrations, labs, guest speakers, and of course hands-on activities,” said Brown. “They came through with flying colors; I'm extremely happy with how things went. Student feedback is positive and the student performance was great.”

The freshman cyber course is one of two new courses designed to enhance Midshipmen's knowledge of cyber warfare. The Naval Academy's Center for Cyber Security Studies works with academic departments around the yard to help develop cyber security courses and provide necessary expertise as the academy continues to build on its cyber program.