Abstract Cybersecurity is a rapidly growing field with jobs in high demand, however, it becomes a challenge to inspire high school student interest in the discipline. Traditionally, a hackathon is an event designated to broaden participation and perceptions in computing. It is usually programming-intensive and does not fulfil the features of cybersecurity. Faculty and staff from Gannon University recently designed and... Cybersecurity is a rapidly growing field with jobs in high demand, however, it becomes a challenge to inspire high school student interest in the discipline. Traditionally, a hackathon is an event designated to broaden participation and perceptions in computing. It is usually programming-intensive and does not fulfil the features of cybersecurity. Faculty and staff from Gannon University recently designed and implemented an innovative hackathon event which included both virtual and on-site competitions. Student feedback and growth of enrolment demonstrated the program’s efficiency and effectiveness under tight-budget circumstances. This paper is an extension of work presented at Frontier in Education (FIE) 2020 and published in its proceedings [1]. Read More Read Less

Abstract This paper outlines the lab exercises designed as the first hands-on experiences for Cyber Engineering and Cybersecurity students. The lab exercises allow students to gain hands-on experience to support their understanding of networking technologies with security concerns in using network components and software applications. This one-credit lab experience course effectively covers the additional topics in the first-year course in Introduction... This paper outlines the lab exercises designed as the first hands-on experiences for Cyber Engineering and Cybersecurity students. The lab exercises allow students to gain hands-on experience to support their understanding of networking technologies with security concerns in using network components and software applications. This one-credit lab experience course effectively covers the additional topics in the first-year course in Introduction to Networks to fully cover the foundational knowledge units needed to prepare students in other cyber courses in the curriculum. The designed hands-on exercises aim to enhance students’ experience in PC technologies, FTP, Telnet, SSH, network building, switches, routers, VLAN, and network traffic analysis. Read More Read Less

Abstract The computer security research community today still lacks a theoretical understanding of the essence of security vulnerabilities. The article argues that the prevailing reductionism in computer science theory leads to insecure coding practice, and Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of mind sheds light on what makes software secure. In particular, Kant’s constructivist conceptualization of the mind and his theory on the unity... The computer security research community today still lacks a theoretical understanding of the essence of security vulnerabilities. The article argues that the prevailing reductionism in computer science theory leads to insecure coding practice, and Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of mind sheds light on what makes software secure. In particular, Kant’s constructivist conceptualization of the mind and his theory on the unity of the mental faculties inspire us to develop a new, non-reductionist approach to software vulnerability problems. We argue that a computer program can possess some structural similarities to the human mind. Similar to the unity of human mind, there is also a functional unity or ‘integration’ in any given program. In the light of this similarity, a cyber-attack can be viewed as operations to compromise a computer program’s original function by violating its internal integration. To illustrate the point, we provide a detailed analysis of two examples of data-only attacks, a new emerging threat to software security. In each case study, we examine the internal, functional integration of the case program and how data-only attacks affect the integration. The result shows a direct correlation between functional integration and the security of software. In the end, we propose a new technical normativity of cultivating to supplement that of coding. Read More Read Less