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UWF Center for Cybersecurity partners with FDLE to enhance cybersecurity

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On the heels of a cyberattack that grounded city services in Atlanta, employees entrusted with protecting their agencies trained on how to thwart attacks during two courses at the University of West Florida.

The UWF Center for Cybersecurity partnered with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services to host the courses on May 10-11 at the UWF Conference Center. Employees from the FDLE, Escambia County Board of County Commissioners, Escambia County School District, Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners and First Judicial Circuit of Florida, among others, participated in the training sessions less than two months after the ransomware attack in Atlanta.

“I think the best solutions are always the collaborative ones, so that we can combine efforts to bring more cybersecurity knowledge and awareness to the community and enhance the resiliency of our region and state,” said Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, UWF Center for Cybersecurity director.

The first course focused on examining various types of cyberattacks, how communities are vulnerable to attacks and incidents and what types of organizations are targeted. The second course provided strategies and processes to increase cyber resilience. Participants analyzed cyber threats, evaluated the process for developing a cyber preparedness program and discovered little to no cost resources to help build cyber resilience.

Molly Akin, special agent supervisor with the FDLE, cited crimes against children, fraud, theft of intellectual property, network intrusions, business email compromises, denial of service and website defacements as cybercrimes her agency investigates.

Victims of cybercrimes in Florida lost an estimated $110 million in 2017, according to the 2017 Internet Crime Report recently released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The report also noted that Florida victims reported losses of $62 million in business email compromise schemes and $10 million in losses due to personal or corporate data breaches. Florida ranked third in the nation in the highest dollar loss for victims.

Akin said the FDLE is forming a Cyber Working Group for Region 1, which covers Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington counties. Akin is seeking volunteers for the committee.

“I want us to have lines of communication,” Akin said. “I want us to have meetings where we can discuss what we’re seeing, things we can work on. The most important thing to me is to establish this group so we can see what this region needs in terms of cyber.”

David Stafford, Escambia County supervisor of elections, participated in both courses. He described the trainings as informative as he prepares to defend against any potential cyberattacks during the upcoming midterm elections. Stafford said the UWF Center for Cybersecurity is a valuable asset for his office in cyber defense.

“One of the things we recognized pretty quickly is we had a tremendous resource in our back yard, literally, with the UWF Center for Cybersecurity,” Stafford said. “Early on, I picked up the phone and called Eman and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got needs, you’ve got resources. Can we work together?’”

In May 2016, the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security designated UWF as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education. Those same governing agencies designated UWF as the Center of Academic Excellence Regional Resource Center for the Southeast U.S. In that role, UWF provides guidance on cyber defense education to colleges and universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Puerto Rico.

“One of the reasons I think FDLE works well with the Center for Cybersecurity is because they have already established themselves as the Northwest Florida/Panhandle area’s place for cybersecurity,” Akin said. “They’re ahead of everything and we know it. They’re nationally known for the things they are doing here.”

For more information about the UWF Center for Cybersecurity, visit uwf.edu/cybersecurity.
For more information about the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, visit fdle.state.fl.us.

UWF Center for Cybersecurity and Metova CyberCENTS announce Florida Cyber Range

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The University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity is partnering with Metova CyberCENTS to create the Florida Cyber Range from Metova’s CENTS® portfolio of cyber range simulators.
The range will be used for hands-on cybersecurity education, training, operations and research. This partnership provides a platform for the UWF Center for Cybersecurity and Metova CyberCENTS to proactively explore knowledge, technologies and tools to further advance cybersecurity regionally, nationally and globally.
The Florida Cyber Range will provide advanced training and testing solutions for academic, government, military and commercial organizations through various cybersecurity exercises and activities. The Florida Cyber Range will revolutionize cybersecurity education and operations within the state and position Florida to provide critical cybersecurity expertise for the nation.
“We are honored to partner with Metova CyberCENTS to launch the Florida Cyber Range,” said Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, director of the UWF Center for Cybersecurity. “The Florida Cyber Range provides a state-of-the-art environment to help cybersecurity students and professionals gain valuable practical skills to detect and defend against real world cyber-attacks. The range will help organizations differentiate themselves and prepare against emerging threats and attacks through innovative training experiences.”
The National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security designated UWF as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education and as the CAE Regional Resource Center for the Southeast U.S. In this role, the UWF Center for Cybersecurity provides leadership to advance cyber defense education among colleges and universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The Florida Cyber Range is designed to provide a Tier 1 Cybersecurity Hub capable of providing services to institutions looking to expand their cybersecurity offerings.
“The Florida Cyber Range will complement expanding cybersecurity education, training and research initiatives by using real world situations to prepare against complex cyber-attacks,” El-Sheikh said. “The UWF Center for Cybersecurity will develop resources and models for integrating Florida Cyber Range exercises into education and training programs and will disseminate these resources regionally and nationally.”
Metova is the owner and developer of the Cyberoperations Enhanced Network and Training Simulators product line, which is a portfolio of Cyber Simulator and Range solutions. CENTS® solutions provide an integrated, Live-Virtual-Constructive cyber range environment for training, exercising and testing full-spectrum cyberspace capabilities. Metova’s cyber range products have been in development and production for over a decade. Taking input directly from cyber operators, beginning with the U.S. Air Force conducting Computer Network Defense exercises in 2001, Metova’s CENTS design has continued to evolve and progress from the first Department of Defense Cyber Range installation, the Joint Cyberspace Operations Range, to the premier cyber range platform currently used within the DoD.
“We envision a future public-private enterprise that will encourage cyber innovation and training, all while being supportive of entrepreneurship,” said Bill Dunn, president of Metova CyberCENTS. “Metova CyberCENTS is pleased to be joined by UWF in bringing the Florida Cyber Range to life, not only for the Cyber Coast, but for government, industry, universities and K-12 across Florida and the nation.”
For more information on the Florida Cyber Range, please visit floridacyberrange.org.
For more information on the UWF Center for Cybersecurity, visit uwf.edu/cybersecurity.
For more information on Metova CYBERCENTS, visit cybercents.com.