Next summer, The University of Tulsa will welcome 40 participants to the GenCyber Tulsa 2023 camp. This experience is made possible by the receipt of a National Security Agency (NSA) grant worth $132,961.
The project’s principal investigator is Sal Aurigemma, an applied associate professor of cyber studies. He is joined by Codi West, a lead instructor of cyber studies, and Kimberly Adams, a mathematics instructor.
Growing knowledge and expanding diversity
GenCyber Tulsa 2023 is focused on introducing and applying the GenCyber cybersecurity concepts and motivating participants to pursue cybersecurity careers to two groups that are underrepresented in the security industry: Native Americans and women. A main feature of the camp will be partnerships with Oklahoma Native American tribes and the Girl Scouts.
“Camp participants will be introduced to a number of scenarios and vignettes featuring different cybersecurity adversarial threats,” explained Aurigemma. “They will then use a range of tools, tactics, techniques and procedures to identify potential compromises and learn how to recover from and protect against future attacks.”
Organizers expect camp participants will be “directly and positively” influenced to pursue STEM – and, especially, cybersecurity – careers. “We also foresee a network effect to spread the news beyond the actual camp participants,” said Aurigemma, “so that many others who don’t attend will learn that cybersecurity is a lucrative field that’s open to everyone who has a desire to learn and a passion for protecting themselves, communities and our nation.”
The GenCyber Tulsa 2023 camp is one of the many ways TU is providing exciting educational opportunities in cybersecurity while striving to improve the sector’s workforce diversity. Learn more about TU’s new School of Cyber Studies.