Training Cybersecurity Ambassadors
As an Assistant Professor of Technology and Cybersecurity at the University of Southern Maine, Lori Sussman already engages in cybersecurity education. Before she became a professor, she managed highly complex organizations that developed integrated, deployed, and sustained state-of-the-art technology and security solutions for public and private clients. She might seem like the typical applicant for the Trusted CI Fellows Program, whose vision is to empower members of the scientific community with basic knowledge of cybersecurity. However, as a Trusted CI Fellow, Professor Sussman was able to broaden her research network and options.
“We got to go to the National Cyber Summit, and that’s all ‘R1’ schools. I didn’t even know the Summit was an option for someone from my university,” says Professor Sussman. “The Fellows program gives us that kind of access and really brings us into the larger community.”
She also gained a better understanding of how cybersecurity can enable or derail research and research support. She has been able to take that perspective to her larger university community.
“I really enjoy looking at the curriculum and seeing how we can help the next generation,” says Professor Sussman. Building on the Trusted CI framework, Professor Sussman created a Cybersecurity Ambassador Program. This program teaches students from adjacent fields (such as IT, tech management, and criminology) about cybersecurity with a focus on identity safety, home cyber safety, prevention of phishing attacks, and social media safety. These students engage in research and community awareness projects. The program has produced another ripple impact—many of these students have gone on to pursue a minor in cybersecurity.
As an alumna, Professor Sussman has participated in a panel and engaged in collaborative research with other members of the Trusted CI community, particularly in her passion areas of cybersecurity education and awareness. In addition, being a Trusted CI Fellow strengthened her approaches to grant work, from securing a grant for a cybersecurity operation center classroom and helping students have an experiential learning environment where they can conduct research.
“We’re using a lot of what I learned as a Fellow in terms of best practices for research parameters and expectations of students,” explains Professor Sussman. “The Trusted CI Fellow program continues to be very, very helpful.”