Cybersecurity Blog

We are pleased to announce that Messiah University has been awarded two grants totaling $300,000 this fall, further solidifying our commitment to excellence in cybersecurity education.

Cyber Service Academy (CSA) Grant

This program is designed to recruit the nation’s top cyber talent with the skills necessary to help secure our information systems and networks against emerging threats. Two of our students have been awarded these prestigious full-ride scholarships, which also include post-graduation employment opportunities.  This award is a testament to our students’ academic excellence and the strength of our curriculum in addressing critical needs in the cyber workforce.

National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) Capacity Building Grant

The second grant, funded by the  NCAE-C program (within the NSA), focuses on capacity building, enabling us to scale and enhance our cybersecurity programs.  With this funding, we will provide new resources for our cybersecurity lab and range, equipping students with hands-on learning opportunities in areas such as IoT security, forensics, and incident response.  This capacity building award will strengthen our ability to train future cybersecurity professionals and contribute to securing the digital future.

To make contributions to Messiah’s cyber program, use our crowdshark page: https://crowdshark.webapps.messiah.edu/CEP/donate/398

The National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designation ceremony for Messiah University took place at the 2024 National  Cybersecurity Education Colloquium (NCEC) on October 9 in St. Louis, MO.  The designation was presented to Messiah University by representatives of the National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   Lynn Bigelow (center in photo), Director of Cybersecurity Education, represented MU at the event.

With this designation, the opportunities for our students, faculty, and partners are immense.  We look forward to building on this recognition by:

• • Expanding scholarships and internship opportunities for students.
  • Enhancing initiatives in collaboration with government, industry and other institutions.
  • Strengthening our cybersecurity outreach and workforce development.

 

On November 16th, members of Messiah University’s Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) team visited Liberty University for a scrimmage to prepare for the upcoming CCDC competition. Professors Bigelow and Christodoss accompanied the team.

Liberty University, known for its strong performance in national CCDC competitions, provided valuable hands-on training. In a typical CCDC competition, teams secure and manage a small business network while defending against professional hackers (Red Team) and maintaining critical services. The environment is intense, requiring strong technical skills, teamwork, and strategic thinking.

For this scrimmage, Liberty University had students on both the Red Team and the Blue Team. Their Red Team, which trains for the Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC), acted as the “hackers” for the scrimmage. Meanwhile, their Blue Team collaborated with Messiah’s Blue Team to defend against the Red Team’s attacks. We formed four teams of three people, each managing their own simulated business environment. This collaboration provided a unique opportunity for both schools to learn from each other and improve their defensive and offensive strategies.

The scrimmage highlighted areas where Messiah needs to improve, particularly in managing Active Directory (AD) joined Linux machines and database management.

Messiah University looks forward to continuing this partnership with Liberty University, with plans for future scrimmages already in the works. We extend our thanks to Liberty for their hospitality and expertise.

Thank you to Chris for this summary!

On October 5th, as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we hosted a Cyber Open House during Homecoming & Family Weekend 2024 from 11 am to 1 pm in our Cyber Center and Security Operations Center (SOC).  Over 45 visitors joined us for an engaging and informative experience.

Guests were given guided tours of our cyber facilities, where they had the opportunity to see firsthand how our student SOC interns monitor and protect the campus network.   Two of our students showcased their projects and demonstrated cybersecurity tools and techniques, including conversations about online safety and the latest challenges.

We also celebrated our recent designation as an NSA Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cybersecurity Defense, a milestone that demonstrates our commitment to excellence in this critical field.  Messiah’s Cybersecurity Education Program is pleased to collaborate with the CAE community to ensure quality, standards-based education for our students with the goal of securing a peaceful digital domain.

Refreshments were enjoyed by all, creating a welcoming atmosphere for guests to mingle with staff and students.  The event was an opportunity to connect, learn, and strengthen our community’s commitment to cybersecurity education and awareness.

Thank you to everyone who attended. We look forward to hosting more events in the future.

On September 13th, members of Messiah University’s Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) team had the opportunity to visit Liberty University. Dr. David Bibighaus and four students represented Messiah during this visit, which focused on collaboration, idea-sharing, and learning from Liberty’s established cyber competition program.

Liberty University, a leading team in national CCDC competitions and many other competitions that our team hopes to compete in, generously shared insights gained from years of experience. Their hospitality and willingness to offer guidance helped our team identify strategies that could enhance their own performance in future competitions. Liberty’s team provided a behind-the-scenes tour of their advanced cyber range—a sophisticated server and network architecture used for hands-on learning and cyber defense training.

With Messiah recently receiving a grant to build a similar cyber range, the knowledge gained from Liberty’s model will be invaluable as Messiah constructs and optimizes their own lab environment. These resources will empower students to gain practical experience and prepare more effectively for competitive events.

Looking ahead, Messiah is eager to continue collaborating with Liberty, with plans for future scrimmages already in the works. As Messiah’s cybersecurity program continues to grow, fostering connections with leading Christian institutions like Liberty has great value. We hope to share the competition podium with our brothers and sisters in Christ soon. Thank you Liberty for Hosting us.

Thank you to Chris for this summary!

A Messiah cyber student was selected to participate in an NSA grant funded Cyber-Chinese program this past summer.    Here is his summary of the experience:

Part 1 of the Chinese Language Immersion Program ran by Indiana University of Pennsylvania was an excellent opportunity to increase my Chinese skills and cultural knowledge. The ten-week summer aspect greatly increased students’ listening and writing skills specifically. Throughout two weeks online and eight weeks at IUP, I spent around five hours a day in language classes and another 50 minutes learning culture. Classes were almost completely in Chinese, which was a challenge to overcome at first. The professors were thoroughly patient when students could not understand, and they made classes understandable by adding some English. Then, during the week and certain weekends, we participated in Chinese culture activities. These included: calligraphy, dragon boating, Kungfu, Tai Qi, Waist Drum dancing, making dumplings, eating at Chinese restaurants, visiting Chinese stores, and singing karaoke. Additionally, the other students are on similar degree paths that I am. This helped to make the program even more fun and engaging for everyone. We got to attend a government conference where we learned about job opportunities that use cybersecurity and Chinese language skills to defend the nation. IUP’s 2024 Chinese Immersion Program improved my language ability immensely and gave me understanding of future opportunities in this vein.

Thank you to Ryan for this summary!

We had the pleasure of once again hosting a classroom full of high school students for our annual Cyber Camp on June 10-13! Twenty-eight students came to learn about the foundations of cybersecurity and to get a small taste of college life on Messiah’s campus.

This year, we had several special guests join us from the cybersecurity industry. Representatives from the Navy Business Systems Center in Mechanicsburg joined us to talk about opportunities in the DOD. Jeff Man, information security architect and consultant who was part of the first penetration testing “red team” at NSA, spoke to us about cryptography. Director of Threat Intelligence at Mastercard, Sharon Flategraff, led us in a KC7 cyber gaming challenge. Allen Snook, Director of Information Security at Messiah University, gave us a tour of the Security Operations Center, where our interns work each semester gaining real-world cybersecurity experience. Allen was joined by two of our cybersecurity students, who spoke to us about their experience working in the SOC and guided us through several Graylog exercises to find network intruders.

The students seemed to enjoy hearing from our guests, learning new concepts such as network protocols and intrusion detection, and working on cyber gaming challenges. The games were a big hit, and proved to be a great way to expand students’ understanding of the concepts taught. We are already planning for more gaming challenges for next year, as well as other things to make Cyber Camp 2025 even more successful!

Thank you to all our students from Cyber Camp 2024 – you were what made this camp so great. We enjoyed spending time with you and we look forward to seeing how cybersecurity plays a role in your path moving forward. Thanks also to the parents for your support of us and of the students.

Enjoy some photos from this year’s camp!

Exciting News from the Cyber Center!

We are thrilled to announce that two of our talented students have been awarded the prestigious DoD CySP Scholarship! Our students’ dedication to cybersecurity and commitment to excellence have truly set them apart. Out of 670 students across the nation who applied for this scholarship, roughly 100 were selected.

The scholarship award includes full scholarship, stipend for living expenses, summer internships, and employment after graduation.

Join us in celebrating this significant achievement for our students. Their hard work and passion for advancing cyber security are inspiring to all of us. Here’s to the bright futures awaiting them in the field of cybersecurity! Congratulations!

The Messiah University cybersecurity team competed in the collegiate cyber defense competition (CCDC) regional competition on March 23, 2024. This year’s team consisted of David Bibighaus (coach), Ray Truex (captain), Brandan Snook, Grace Taylor, Aidan Hubley, Chris Copeland, Carolina Hatch, and Ben Clarke. The inherit and defend competition took place at Prince George’s Community College and was an eight-hour day of securing systems from attackers, keeping systems operational, responding to business tasks, creating incident reports, and meeting with C-suite executives.

Carolina Hatch, a junior who coordinated the completion of the business tasks, said after the competition “[regionals] was a great opportunity for the team to learn and grow, both in our skills and our relationships”. Her assessment is very accurate, the team learned that there is much room for improvement in areas such as using firewalls, switches, and Windows administration. The team also had the chance to network with other schools and employers to cultivate collaboration as the team continues to prepare for next year.

The team ended the competition at 8^th of 10 schools, improving from last years position of 9^th. While the team would like to have placed a bit higher, we are happy with the progress that we have made since the club was founded last year. Within the first two years of participating, the team has been able to place high enough in the qualifiers to earn a spot at the regional’s competition both years. The team will continue to prepare and has hopes of improving placement at regionals next year.

Thank you to Ray Truex for this recap… and way to go, team! #messiahcyber

The Scouts BSA gathered on campus on two recent Saturdays to attend the Merit Badge College hosted by Messiah.  In our Cyber Center, scouts attended workshops to complete their  Digital Technology merit badge.   They reviewed and completed several of the requirements needed to earn their badge, including:

• the history of digital technology over time,
• the kinds of devices they imagined might be available when they are an adult,
• digital storage of text, sounds and pictures,
• lossy and lossless data compression,
• useful and programmable digital devices,
• similarities and differences between devices, computer networks, programs and apps,
• history and threat of malware,
• protecting their digital privacy,
• internet browsing security.

Director of Cybersecurity Education, Lynn Bigelow, was present to provide instruction on these topics along with a scout leader. An informational session, co-led by cybersecurity major Grace Taylor, was held for parents during lunch to talk about computer science and cybersecurity studies. Scouts spent the day completing nine of the tasks required to earn their merit badge in digital technology, and will finish the other eight on their own using the information they gained at the workshops.

It was a privilege to host the Scouts BSA and aid in their cybersecurity learning journey!