Illinois State University recently hosted the Central Illinois High School Cyber Defense Competition. The competition is modeled on the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. Teams from central Illinois high schools competed against each other on their ability to defend their computers and networks against hacking attacks from a “red team” consisting of School of Information Technology students majoring in Information Assurance & Security. Teams are scored on their ability to keep critical programs and services running and their ability to protect them from attacks.

The competition was organized byDr. Douglas Twitchell and Dr. Glen Sagers of the School of Information Technology and  funded by the National Security Agency.

Read about local participants here.

Position Title: IT Security Position
Company: TEKsystems
Full time/Part time: Full Time
Internship /Temporary/Permanent: Permanent

Description:

Our client has built a security practice that is dedicated to providing businesses with sound IT security solutions, training and awareness. They provide custom IT security solutions and strategies which promote stable and progressive business infrastructures. They tie the best of ethics, underground hacking practices and professional solutions with the highest IT security business strategies to ensure their products and services are accurate and reliable. They have nearly 30 different avenues of security offerings including:

• Penetration Testing/Hacking
• Social Engineering/Phishing
• Security Audit and Reporting
• Data Loss Prevention (SS#, CC#, PII, etc.)
• Data Encryption (In flight & at rest)
• Cryptographic analyst / Cracking
• IT Security Policy writing / Auditing

Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

• Assess risk factors and advise on vulnerabilities to attack from a variety of sources and procedures for proactive remedies to security shortfalls
• Research, develop and keep abreast of testing tools, techniques, and process improvements in support of security detection and incident response
• Conduct penetration tests using a combination of manual and automated approaches
• Ability to develop exploits and proof of concepts
• Match security practices with many different regulation/standards

Top 3 Desired Skills :

1. Ethical hacking of software applications
2. CISSP, CISM, CEH, Security+ OR other advanced security certifications.
3. Knowledge of industry security regulations/practices (ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI, FISMA, OWASP etc.)

Contact:

Andy Weaver, Recruiter
404 N. Hershey Rd. Suite B
Bloomington, IL 61704

pweaver@teksystems.com

888-719-8380
309-661-4033

F1 309-664-7338  F2 309-664-7498

Because of ISU’s designation as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, the Department of Defense Information Assurance Scholarship program is available to ISU students.

ISU students who are not currently employed by DoD may apply for scholarships through the IASP Recruitment Program. Under this program, DoD funds scholarships in eligible Information Assurance disciplines for rising juniors or seniors in college, as well as individuals who are accepted into, or currently enrolled in a master’s, PhD, or graduate certificate program.

Students selected for the IASP recruitment program are awarded funding for:

• tuition
• required books
• fees
• labs
• equipment
• stipend to cover room and board ($14,000 for undergraduates; $19,000 for graduates)
• Paid internships at select Department of Defense organizations

If you will be a junior, senior, or graduate student in the 2012-2013 academic year, pursuing an information assurance-related major or sequence and are interested in this opportunity please contact Dr. Doug Twitchell as soon as possible. The deadline for scholarship materials is February 10, 2012.

Doug Twitchell
Campus Box 5150
Normal, IL 61790

dtwitch@ilstu.edu
309-438-7756

For more information, please see the IASP website at:  http://cio-nii.defense.gov/sites/iasp2/pro_recruit.html

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must meet the following requirements:

• 18 years of age or older and a U.S. citizen at time of application.
• Pursuing a course of study and/or have a declared major with an IA concentration in one of the scientific, technical or managerial disciplines related to computer and network security.
• For undergraduate applicants, must have completed at least the first two years of an undergraduate degree program by August of the calendar year in which scholarship funding will commence and be eligible to begin either the third or fourth year of the degree. GPA must be at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or an analogous rank based on a comparable scale).
• For graduate applicants, must be eligible to begin the first or second year of a master’s degree program; pursue doctoral studies; or complete a graduate IA certificate program. GPA must be at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale (or an analogous rank based on a comparable scale).
• Able to obtain a security clearance.

Dr. Doug Twitchell, Associate Proffessor in the School of Information Technology, was interviewed and quoted by The Pantagraph in an article on the increasing popularity of banking by smartphone and the related information security issues.

“With mobile applications, I don’t think there’s too much problem right now because the attackers who want  to steal information haven’t zeroed in on mobile devices,” said Twitchell. But  he said it is always a battle to stay ahead of hackers trying to gain secure  information, and that it could become a problem when use of mobile banking  becomes prevalent.

Read the complete article.

School of Information Technology students Matthew Calhoun and Joshua Bogacz have been selected to serve as interns to the State of Illinois Internet Privacy Task Force. Both are students in the school’s Information Assurance and Security program.

The Task Force is composed of individuals from the aerospace, communications, finance, government, and education sectors and will make recommendations to the Governor on topics related to cybersecurity. Some of the topics the Task Force may examine include –

• Preventing cyber attacks on key financial systems within the state
• Protecting against cyber espionage
• Ensuring that cyber infrastructure can recover quickly from an attack
• Creating an environment for cyber security professionals and companies to operate in Illinois

The School of Information technology is home to the Center for Information Assurance and Security Education (CIASE) at Illinois State University. CIASE is designated a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency.

Illinois State University and the School of Information Technology are extremely proud that our students have been chosen to participate in this very important project.

Dr. Glen Sagers, assistant professor in the School of Information Technology, has conducted extensive research in the area of residential wireless network security. His research shows that only 56% of residential wireless networks employ some type of security to prevent unauthorized and/or malicious access. However, many of those residential wireless networks that do employ security are employing obsolete measures that are not effective against current attacks.

Who are these attackers? Why do you care if they access your wireless network? How do you prevent them from accessing your wireless network? You can find the answers to all these questions by reading Dr. Sagers’ Home Wifi Security Tutorial

Description:

The State of Illinois Internet Privacy Task Force met for the first time last week. The role of the Task Force is to make recommendations on cybersecurity to the Governor. The Task Force is composed of individuals from the aerospace, communications, finance, government, and education sectors. The first report to the Governor is due in six months and the final report is due in a year.

The Task Force is seeking interns to help accomplish its mission. At this point, it is anticipated the internships will not be paid. However, the experience of working with CIOs from high-tech companies on a high profile government task force which will influence future public policy will be invaluable. Task Force meetings are expected to be held in the Chicago area.

Some of the topics that the Task Force may examine include –

• Preventing cyber attacks on key financial systems within the state (e.g., Mercantile Exchange)
• Protecting against cyber espionage
• Ensuring that cyber infrastructure can recover quickly from an attack
• Creating an environment for cyber security professionals and companies to set up shop in Illinois

The coordinator for the Task Force has asked for the submission of potential interns’ names as soon as possible.

How to apply:

Interested Information Assurance & Security majors should apply no later than October 10, 2011.
Apply by submitting your resume, along with a cover letter explaining why you would like to serve as an intern to the Task Force.
Resume and Cover letter may be submitted by email attachment to Tal Parmenter taparme@ilstu.edu, or by hand delivery to the School of Information Technology office in Old Union Building, Rm-202, Attn: Tal Parmenter.

School of Information Technology Alumnus (’97) Nicholas J. Percoco, Senior Vice President and head of Trustwave’s SpiderLabs invites School of Information Technology students and Graduates to apply for current job opportunities with Trustwave. View the opportunities and apply.

About Trustwave
Trustwave is a leading provider of on-demand and subscription-based information security and payment card industry compliance management solutions to businesses and government entities throughout the world. For organizations faced with today’s challenging data security and compliance environment, Trustwave provides a unique approach with comprehensive solutions… read more

Keeping the Internet Safe is a Responsibility We All Share.

The School of Information Technology at Illinois State University invites you to an event to discuss the importance of increasing the American public’s awareness and understanding about cybersecurity, and the role that academia, public and private industry play in preparing our Nation’s next generation cyber workforce and leaders.

As part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Stop,Think,Connect national cyber security awareness campaign, the Cyber Citizen Forum is bringing together representatives from the Department of Homeland Security and the i-Safety Task Force, as well as leadership, faculty and students from Illinois State University, to discuss the challenges and opportunities we face as a Nation when it comes to our Internet safety and how efforts including the Campaign can help elevate awareness and encourage the public to take increased measures to protect themselves online.

Join us for this important event on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 10:00 AM in the Old Main Room of the Bone Student Center on the Illinois State campus.

Dr. Doug Twitchell and Dr. Glen Sagers of the School of Information Technology have been awarded a grant of $56,000.00 by the Department of Defense (DoD). The purpose of the grant is to fund the development of an infrastructure to host a Central Illinois High School Cyber Defense Competition and recruit potential students to the School of Information Technology. The resulting infrastructure will also make it possible for the School of Information Technology to virtualize Information Assurance & Security laboratories and share those resources with other institutions.