Team for Research in
Ubiquitous Secure Technology

Citation
Sigurd Meldal, Kristen Gates, Russell Smith, Xiao Su. "Security, Safety and Privacy – Pervasive Themes for Engineering Education". ICEE 2008, Geza Varady (ed.), iNEER, July, 2008.

Abstract
Computer trustworthiness continues to increase in importance as a pressing scientific, economic, and so- cial problem. The last decade has seen a rapid increase in computer security attacks at all levels, as more in- dividuals connect to common networks and as motivations and means to conduct sophisticated attacks in- crease. A parallel and accelerating trend has been the rapidly growing integration role of computing and communication in critical infrastructure systems, with complex interdependencies rooted in information technologies [1][12]. The ubiquitous nature of IT technology deployment also has deep consequences for personal privacy and ultimately on individual freedom [6]. These overlapping and interacting trends force us to recognize that trustworthiness of our computer systems is not an IT issue alone; it has a direct and imme- diate impact on the nation's critical infrastructure and on the core values of our society. The interplay (and possible conflicts) of these factors compel us to conclude that an understanding of the policy and security issues of IT deployment is part and parcel of being an educated member of society. Fur- thermore, an understanding of these issues is a necessary requirement for every professional engineer, and in particular for engineers in the IT domains: Trustworthiness is a key concept to be taught in general educa- tion, and in particular in engineering education. Engineering education currently lacks a holistic view of the interplay of security in systems design. Secu- rity appears in engineering curricula (if at all) as add-ons, and discussions of public policy issues are insig- nificant. Creating a new generation of professionals who understand the technology and policy aspects of trustwor- thiness in our critical infrastructure systems is part of the US national agenda and a central objective for TRUST, the NSF Science and Technology Center for Research in Ubiquitous Secure Technology [1]. Based on work done at and with NSF STC TRUST we are adopting a multi-pronged approach to integrat- ing trustworthiness into the general and the engineering education experiences. • In the general education curriculum (which all students have to complete) we have created a course where security and privacy issues serve as a vehicle for the social issues education requirement. • In the engineering core classes we are introducing security as a key design component. • Internships in security organizations are offered to students across the US as part of engineering degrees. • The role of national certification and accreditation standards (such as the NSA CAEIAE certification, ABET EAC and CAC accreditation) are evaluated for curricular adoption and adaption. • National and regional workshops that establish security development communities are organized, and they assist universities in understanding and achieving such standards. Our ultimate goal is to change the current situation and to engage the educational community to work to- wards a broader understanding of systems, security and policy options among future technologists and policy shapers. In this paper we will present three aspects of this strategy: The introduction of security and privacy to the general student population through a general education course, secondly the more technical introduction to security in the context of a network security course, and thirdly, the confirmation of these academic modes through the placement of students into internships in security organizations in Silicon Valley.

Electronic downloads

• ICEE2008_MeldalGatesSmithSuFull.pdf · application/pdf · 700 kbytes

• HTML

  Sigurd Meldal, Kristen Gates, Russell Smith, Xiao Su. <a
  href="http://www.truststc.org/pubs/431.html"
  >Security, Safety and Privacy –  Pervasive Themes
  for Engineering Education</a>, ICEE 2008, Geza Varady
  (ed.), iNEER, July, 2008.

• Plain text

  Sigurd Meldal, Kristen Gates, Russell Smith, Xiao Su.
  "Security, Safety and Privacy –  Pervasive
  Themes for Engineering Education". ICEE 2008, Geza
  Varady (ed.), iNEER, July, 2008.

• BibTeX

  @inproceedings{MeldalGatesSmithSu08_SecuritySafetyPrivacyPervasiveThemesForEngineering,
      author = {Sigurd Meldal and Kristen Gates and Russell Smith
                and Xiao Su},
      title = {Security, Safety and Privacy –  Pervasive Themes
                for Engineering Education},
      booktitle = {ICEE 2008},
      editor = {Geza Varady},
      organization = {iNEER},
      month = {July},
      year = {2008},
      abstract = {Computer trustworthiness continues to increase in
                importance as a pressing scientific, economic, and
                so- cial problem. The last decade has seen a rapid
                increase in computer security attacks at all
                levels, as more in- dividuals connect to common
                networks and as motivations and means to conduct
                sophisticated attacks in- crease. A parallel and
                accelerating trend has been the rapidly growing
                integration role of computing and communication in
                critical infrastructure systems, with complex
                interdependencies rooted in information
                technologies [1][12]. The ubiquitous nature of IT
                technology deployment also has deep consequences
                for personal privacy and ultimately on individual
                freedom [6]. These overlapping and interacting
                trends force us to recognize that trustworthiness
                of our computer systems is not an IT issue alone;
                it has a direct and imme- diate impact on the
                nation's critical infrastructure and on the core
                values of our society. The interplay (and possible
                conflicts) of these factors compel us to conclude
                that an understanding of the policy and security
                issues of IT deployment is part and parcel of
                being an educated member of society. Fur-
                thermore, an understanding of these issues is a
                necessary requirement for every professional
                engineer, and in particular for engineers in the
                IT domains: Trustworthiness is a key concept to be
                taught in general educa- tion, and in particular
                in engineering education. Engineering education
                currently lacks a holistic view of the interplay
                of security in systems design. Secu- rity appears
                in engineering curricula (if at all) as add-ons,
                and discussions of public policy issues are insig-
                nificant. Creating a new generation of
                professionals who understand the technology and
                policy aspects of trustwor- thiness in our
                critical infrastructure systems is part of the US
                national agenda and a central objective for TRUST,
                the NSF Science and Technology Center for Research
                in Ubiquitous Secure Technology [1]. Based on work
                done at and with NSF STC TRUST we are adopting a
                multi-pronged approach to integrat- ing
                trustworthiness into the general and the
                engineering education experiences. • In the
                general education curriculum (which all students
                have to complete) we have created a course where
                security and privacy issues serve as a vehicle for
                the social issues education requirement. • In
                the engineering core classes we are introducing
                security as a key design component. •
                Internships in security organizations are offered
                to students across the US as part of engineering
                degrees. • The role of national certification
                and accreditation standards (such as the NSA
                CAEIAE certification, ABET EAC and CAC
                accreditation) are evaluated for curricular
                adoption and adaption. • National and regional
                workshops that establish security development
                communities are organized, and they assist
                universities in understanding and achieving such
                standards. Our ultimate goal is to change the
                current situation and to engage the educational
                community to work to- wards a broader
                understanding of systems, security and policy
                options among future technologists and policy
                shapers. In this paper we will present three
                aspects of this strategy: The introduction of
                security and privacy to the general student
                population through a general education course,
                secondly the more technical introduction to
                security in the context of a network security
                course, and thirdly, the confirmation of these
                academic modes through the placement of students
                into internships in security organizations in
                Silicon Valley. },
      URL = {http://www.truststc.org/pubs/431.html}
  }
  

Posted by Sigurd Meldal on 18 Aug 2008.
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