A Comprehensive Undergraduate Information Assurance Program

This paper describes the experience of our institution in creating a comprehensive undergraduate information assurance (IA) program. An interdisciplinary approach was undertaken in order to include a larger portion of the student body and faculty and thus influence a broader audience. The program includes a wide variety of mutually supporting information assurance activities including a research center, coursework, an information warfare laboratory, a cyber defense exercise, an outreach program, conferences, trips, summer internships, a guest speaker program, a National Security Agency Liaison program, summer student internships, faculty sabbaticals and a student information warfare club. This paper organizes discussion of these activities into the student experience, building faculty expertise, and organizational support. The catalyst for these activities has been the formation of the Military Academy’s dedicated information assurance research center, the Information Technology and Operations Center (ITOC), and the continuing support from and interaction with the National Security Agency. The primary goal of this paper is to provide a descriptive resource to educators who wish to implement an undergraduate or graduate level information assurance program. It is our sincere hope to inspire and aid others in starting similar programs.