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Iowa State University

Iowa State University (ISU) promotes education, research, and outreach in Information Assurance. Over two dozen faculty members from six academic departments work together in the Information Assurance Center to explore the problems of securing information in application areas ranging from software to networks to electronic democracy. ISU offers Information Assurance course concentrations in the home departments supporting BS, MS, and PhD studies, and a new multidisciplinary Masters of Science in Information Assurance. Faculty research interests cover the breadth of Information Assurance, including intrusion detection, security of wireless networks, mobile ad-hoc tactical networks, secure e-commerce, public policy for electronic democracy, and the development of a curriculum framework for Information Assurance. The following web sites provide additional information on our activities in Information Assurance.

News and Announcements
Exciting new announcements about the Information Assurance program can be found here. Please visit here often to find out more about what is going on in at the Information Assurance Center. The annual report and brochures will also be posted at this location.

Education
At present, Iowa State University is already a leader in computer security education. However, the national need for information security officers is tremendous and will continue to grow. Therefore, the IAC seeks to expand the present educational program by expanding its faculty size and educational funding. This will allow the IAC to provide more high quality graduates and make Iowa State a national learning center on information security.

Along with the educational program, the faculty of the IAC will seek to expand its outreach effort and partner with business and federal, state, and local agencies and serve their needs of information security. The faculty of the IAC from various disciplines will develop security-oriented instructional materials that can be used by both security and non-security professionals in various organizational settings. In addition, it will provide technical and informational assistance to companies and governmental organizations on information security issues

Research
By its very nature information assurance is a multidisciplinary research area. While most universities who perform research in computer security focus solely on the technical issues, we have created a truly multidisciplinary effort with faculty from seven departments. We take a truly multidisciplinary approach, searching for both technical and political solutions to security problems. Thus, our program includes faculty, who are actively involved in several core research areas, including:

1) intrusion detection;

2) network security;

3) data privacy and security;

4) dependable systems and networks;

5) security policy and commerce; and

6) computer security education.

This combination of technology, business issues, policy concerns, leadership, and ethics makes our program unique and will allow us to produce highly qualified researchers and educators. The center faculty members have a long history of technology and interaction with industry.

Outreach
The Information Assurance Center faculty members are involved in numerous outreach activities including teaching tutorials and short courses for conferences and local audiences. Outreach is a corner stone of our mission. According to the latest national Plan for Information Systems Protection released in January of 2000, “defending America’s cyberspace will require action by all America-business leaders, education, and other private sector institutions, the government, and ultimately the general public. A foundation for the many actions outlined in the National Plan for Information Systems protection is the understanding and awareness of the new threats posed to our information systems and the need for actions.” The Center continues to create and offer tutorials and short courses in addition to helping local government and business address the security issues.

Information Assurance Colloquium
Dr. Clifford Bergman organizes a monthly colloquium series  in Information Assurance.  Speakers  include representatives from industry, and federal, state and local government, as well as researchers from Iowa State and other universities. Follow the link for details.

Iowa State University's Information Systems Security Laboratory is a charter Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (COE) as designated by the National Security Agency

The Iowa State University Information Assurance Center is pleased to participate in the Purdue University Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) affiliates program