Message from the Director - June Update

The very excellent Eric, with whom rests the primary responsibility of our blog and newsletter, has been badgering me for some time to provide a note from the director. He’s been patient and I’ve been procrastinating. I’m not procrastinating because I have nothing to say. Anyone that knows me well, knows I’m rarely at a loss of words, not of words. No, I’m procrastinating because I’m never quite sure what to say in these notes; humblebrags, kudos to high performers, comments about our favorite clients and partners…. I think I know the problem, there is simply too much to say.   

Over the past year, our team has really spread its wings and our portfolio is growing in response.  In another month’s time or so, when Eric asks for another note from the director, I’ll be highlighting this past fiscal year’s performance and our outstanding efforts as a team. For this note, however, I’ve decided to very briefly highlight a few exciting developments for cyberTAP, specifically some new initiatives and partnerships. I encourage you to stick to the end of this message for an exciting offer to get reimbursed for our training through the Next Level Jobs!   

CYMANII 

cyberTAP has recently joined the Purdue research team, led by CERIAS, on the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CYMANII) project. The project is funded by the Department of Energy and consists of a larger team of higher-eds, institutes, and industry partners.  We will be working alongside multiple research groups from Purdue to connect our applied cyber services and training efforts to the foundational and theoretical research being conducted as part of the institute.  This is a new opportunity for us and we’re excited to be part of the team.   

MSU-Denver 

We are thrilled to be partnering with Metropolitan State University – Denver on a joint cyber range project that will initially deliver a selection of our offensive and defensive courses, including a specialized ransomware course, as a capstone for MSU-Denver students.  We will launch the first cohort this fall and we are currently building out the capabilities to deliver an excellent set of simulated cyberattack scenarios using our Purdue Cyber Range.   

MISI 

Another new opportunity and partnership is with the Maryland Innovation and Security Institute (MISI). We have successfully led the first training program for MISI interns in which we utilized our cyber range to enrich the interns' experience in the MISI program. The interns were put into teams and taken through a series of cyber range scenarios.  cyberTAP is looking forward to the next batch of interns that will train this summer.  This type of program is a specialty for cyberTAP and we hope to expand it more in the future.   

Grant Opportunities 

cyberTAP has been very busy soliciting new funding from several grant sources. To date, we have applied for several million dollars worth of activity.  I’m hopeful that in subsequent notes from the director that we will be celebrating new awards and new programs for our team. The sheer amount of cyber and information security funding opportunities is a welcome sight for our team and an indicator of the importance of our professional services and education programs here at cyberTAP.   

Next Level Jobs 

Finally, there is an opportunity for you to train with cyberTAP and get reimbursed for it. The state of Indiana has announced the next round of funding for the Next Level Jobs grant which reimburses companies for training dollars spent on approved programs.  Last year we were able to provide hundreds of hours of training at no cost to the recipients.  We are prepared to do that again. If you are interested and your company meets the program requirements, reach out to Karen Leaman, leamank@purdue.edu for more information.   

It’s been a great year so far at cyberTAP and I’m very much looking forward to sharing our successes with you in my next note. We’ve met or exceeded so many of our stretch goals for the fiscal year, it will certainly be time for a humblebrag. For now, and always, I encourage you to reach out to me directly if you have questions, comments, or simply want to connect.   

All the best,  

Mat