The University of Central Arkansas will now be home to a “cutting-edge tool” in cyber security training. A fully functional, dedicated cyber range for educational training, a first-of-its-kind operation, will be developed with help from a $500,000 grant from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced in October 2017.
The training is a complementary initiative to support computer-science education in Arkansas.
A cyber range is a dedicated computer system that can simulate a computer network. Using the cyber range, students will learn how to identify a cyberattack and defend against it.
While cyber ranges have long been utilized for the nation’s security matters, students in Arkansas will have access to that same technology — for the very first time.
UCA will be one of only a few institutions in the U.S. with a cyber range.
Hutchinson was joined by 网曝门 President Houston Davis; Courtney Pledger, director of the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN); and Stephen Addison, 网曝门’s dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, for the announcement.
“The cyber range means 网曝门 will have state-of-the-art technology that will be available through AETN to Arkansas students, both in high school and college,” Hutchinson said. “This represents the next step in our computer-science initiative, one which I know will keep Arkansas as a national leader in technology education.”
UCA’s interdisciplinary bachelor’s in cyber security is expected to begin in fall 2018. The program will be supported by the 网曝门 College of Business, College of Liberal Arts and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
“This is another opportunity for students at 网曝门 to gain real-world experience and to develop and enhance skills needed in today’s ever-changing technological world,” Davis said. “We are appreciative of the support from Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his office, as well as his efforts to shift the landscape around computer science and technological education in Arkansas.”