{"id":920,"date":"2022-01-13T22:06:37","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T22:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/?post_type=stories&p=920"},"modified":"2022-01-13T22:06:37","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T22:06:37","slug":"digital-combatants","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/news\/digital-combatants\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Combatants"},"content":{"rendered":"
Eastern students take on the cyber crooks.<\/span><\/h6>\n

 <\/p>\n

A <\/span>ransomware attack shuts down Colonial Pipeline, largest fuel supplier to the East Coast; a cryptocurrency heist drains $600 million from the accounts of the PolyNetwork blockchain site; a data breach exposes the personal information of 50 million T-Mobile account holders: These brazen cyberattacks, all pulled off within the last six months, underscore the extreme vulnerability of America\u2019s \u2014 and the world\u2019s \u2014\u00a0 <\/span>digital infrastructure.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Faculty and students in Eastern\u2019s computer science and electrical engineering department, led by Stu Steiner, an assistant professor of computer science, are at the forefront of training those who can blunt the threat. The program\u2019s cyber defense initiative, for example, has created regional partnerships that not only assess and secure critical infrastructure, but also provide real-time monitoring for regional municipalities. Among their many real-world interventions, Eagle students have already blocked Russian hackers from infiltrating the city of Spokane Valley\u2019s computer network and have worked with Washington\u2019s Office of the Secretary of State to ensure election security.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency designated Eastern Washington University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


\nSuch efforts are about the get a big boost. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency designated Eastern Washington University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, a classification that will steer more federal resources into Eastern\u2019s cybersecurity program.<\/span><\/p>\n

EWU is the only four-year institution on the east side of the state of Washington to earn this classification. It means the university will be a validated cyber defense program of study through 2026. Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, NSA director and head of the U.S. Army\u2019s Cyber Command, will present a certificate recognizing Eastern\u2019s national center designation in the coming year.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recognizing EWU\u2019s program, NSA cited the university\u2019s ability to meet the demands of the cyber defense field, one that faces a critical shortage of professionals with the skills to combat the growing threat from often state-supported cyber criminals.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEarning this federal recognition demonstrates how EWU is leading the region in developing cybersecurity professionals to help protect the critical infrastructure of the nation,\u201d says Steiner.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eastern students take on the cyber crooks.   A ransomware attack shuts down Colonial Pipeline, largest fuel supplier to the East Coast; a cryptocurrency heist drains $600 million from the accounts of the PolyNetwork blockchain site; a data breach exposes the personal information of 50 million T-Mobile account holders: These brazen cyberattacks, all pulled off…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":923,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-920","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-campus","stories_categories-research","stories_categories-science","stories_categories-students","stories_tags-fall-winter-2021"],"acf":{"featured_video":"","subheading":"","display_byline":false,"display_date_published":false,"Links":false,"Resources":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1145,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/920\/revisions\/1145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}