News 07-30-2002
CMU Teaches Info Sec at Minority Colleges
Carnegie Mellon University said it would work with historically black colleges
and Hispanic-serving institutions on a program to train the next generation
of Internet security experts. Partners with Carnegie Mellon in the program,
funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), are Howard University, Morgan
State University and the University of Texas at El Paso. CMU is providing educational
resources that will enable Ph.D. computer scientists to teach survey-level courses
in information security to advanced undergraduate and first-year graduate students
at their universities. The four-week program began July 8 and continues through
August 2. It is being delivered by staff of Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering
Institute (SEI) and its CERT Coordination Center, the nation's first computer
emergency response team.
Sponsor: Plan Now to Present at Syllabus fall2002
Share your expertise with education technology's leaders when you present at
the Syllabus fall2002 conference, November 3-5. At this, Syllabus' 4th annual
autumn visit to the Boston area, faculty, administrators and IT professionals
will gather at the Boston Marriott Newton Hotel to explore the latest applications
of information technology in higher education institutions. Compelling technology
topics presented in a collegial atmosphere is the hallmark of Syllabus' Boston
conferences. Be there to set the tone with your presentation. Proposals to present
at the main conference or to lead a full- or half-day seminar during the pre-conference
are due by August 15. Submission guidelines, content areas and complete details
can be found online at http://www.syllabus.com/fall2002/papers.asp
Naval War College Runs Digital War Game
The U.S. Naval War College and consulting firm Gartner Group Inc. last week
ran a three-day war gaming exercise to assess the readiness of the United States
for cyber-attacks against energy grids, telecommunications, financial institutions
and the Internet. In the exercise, called "Digital Pearl Harbor," participants
jointly designed a large-scale cyber-attack on the U.S. to judge the most effective
methods of attack and how different industries might interact. They also wanted
to judge the information requirements for successful attacks and the effort
necessary for terrorists to obtain the information without compromising their
identities. "The leadership in our country has stated clearly that there will
be more terrorist attacks against America," said Dr. Kenneth Watman, director
of war gaming at the Naval War College. "Unfortunately, there are a wide variety
of ways terrorists can strike our society, and cyber-terrorism is one of them.
The goal of this game is to assist the participants in identifying what forms
such an attack might take and how to best react to this possibility."
Findings of Digitial Pearl Harbor will be made public in August at http://www.gartner.com
Army Offers Remote War-Fighting Courses
The U.S. Army's Battle Command Training Program (BCTP), in coordination with
its Command and General Staff College (CGSC), has deployed a learning, knowledge
and human capital management system. The system, mGen Enterprise, will enable
soldiers in Army National Guard brigades to take classes remotely and develop
war-fighting skills before arriving at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for real-time
training seminars. Soldiers around the world will participate in courses at
any given time, as units rotate in and out of training. Currently, 21 core classes
make up a total of 88 tailored courses for soldiers offered via the mGen solution.
Each soldier takes courses designed for the respective Battlefield Operating
Systems (BOS). Mentors or Observer Trainers (OTs), with specialty in a respective
BOS, serve as authors to the classes and can provide direct assistance to soldiers
in the course.
Small Colleges Collaborate on Online Degrees
Michigan-based Jackson Community College (JCC) and Walsh College signed an
agreement to provide JCC students an opportunity to finish their bachelor's
degrees via the Internet. JCC students will be able to obtain a bachelor of
business administration degree online by transferring a maximum of 82 credit
hours in business and general education courses from JCC and then completing
45 credit hours online with Walsh College. Majors in the new program would include
general business, management, or marketing. Through the partnership, Walsh College,
an upper division school offering only junior and senior level course work,
said it would increase its strength in business education in the Jackson area
while enhancing the quality of JCC's business program.
Awards, Deals, Contracts, in Higher Education
-- The University of California signed a deal with CyberSource, a provider
of electronic payment and risk management solutions, as an electronic payment
processing provider. The CyberSource solution enables real-time payments via
credit, debit, and procurement card and/or electronic check. It will be used
within the UC system to process payments accepted over the Internet for tuition,
registration and administration fees, athletic tickets and campus bookstore
purchases.
-- The University of Miami said it would deploy a metro optical solution from
Nortel Networks across three of its south Florida campuses. The university will
establish -- through its Information Systems Institute -- an optical equipment
lab dedicated to hands-on instruction. The university plans to use Nortel Networks
OPTera Metro 3500 Multiservice Platform, a Sonet solution that will let the
university add new, high-bandwidth services while preserving its IT infrastructure
investment.
