Research Awards Research Awards: Collaborative Research: CyberTraining: Pilot: Operationalizing AI/Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Training

$ 140,000 awarded to Jiawei Yuan sponsored by the National Science Foundation

The interplay between AI and cybersecurity introduces new opportunities and challenges in the cybersecurity of AI as well as AI for cybersecurity. However, operations and configurations of AI cyberinfrastructure with a security mindset are rarely covered. To fill this gap, this project develops a holistic technical approach for cybertraining: to identify, apply, and evaluate AI techniques that are inextricably related to well-defined operational cybersecurity challenges.

Dr. Jiawei Yuan, assistant professor of computer and information science, has been awarded $140,000 for the project, "Collaborative Research: CyberTraining: Pilot: Operationalizing AI/Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Training," by the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

The interplay between AI and cybersecurity introduces new opportunities and challenges in the cybersecurity of AI as well as AI for cybersecurity. However, operations and configurations of AI cyberinfrastructure with a security mindset are rarely covered. To fill this gap, this project develops a holistic technical approach for cybertraining: to identify, apply, and evaluate AI techniques that are inextricably related to well-defined operational cybersecurity challenges. The project intends to develop a Docker-based training platform that simulates and pre-configures a variety of scenarios to support hands-on AI cyberinfrastructure operations in the context of cybersecurity. The project broadens the access and adoption of advanced AI cyberinfrastructure while integrating cyberinfrastructure skills with the security mindset to foster inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional research collaborations. 

"This project echoes the increasing demand for a research workforce with competencies in operating AI/machine learning cyberinfrastructure with a security mindset and solving research problems to meet national and economic priorities," said Yuan. "Outcomes from this project will broaden adoption of AI cyberinfrastructure resources by the scientific community, and thus enhancing the capability of research workforce to use advanced AI cyberinfrastructure to address realistic operational cybersecurity challenges".