Ohio Third Frontier awarded the University of Dayton Center for Cybersecurity and Data Intelligence $193,981 to prepare schoolchildren against cyber risks, equip police to investigate the dark web and train the cyber workforce.

"Our goal is to train students, inform individuals and empower communities to make the online world safer for everyone," said Grant Neeley, the center's director.

The center is a regional programming center of the Ohio Cyber Range Institute with a commitment to developing and delivering programming in education, cybersecurity awareness, and workforce and economic development. 

Engaging, interactive app for K-12

Faculty will create an immersive, interactive, 3D app to teach kindergarten through 12th grade students to identify and respond to online risks such as phishing, malicious websites and more.

Throughout the CyberSafe training, students will wear a virtual reality headset, immersing them in the virtual environment; choose a character; earn badges and points for rewards such as decorations for their online space; and compete in quizzes to earn top spots on leaderboards.

“Most training offered by governments, companies and other organizations are made for adults and are not fun for young people,” said Zhongmei Yao, associate professor of computer science and director of research. “CyberSafe will be gamified, but it’s more than a game. It is a step toward making a digitally native generation more responsible, aware and ready to respond to risks in the technological world.”

Work will begin this summer, with an app launch in June 2025.

Free dark web training for police

Faculty will launch a free training program for law enforcement to investigate crimes on the dark web this fall.

“The dark web is a deliberately hidden system where criminals operate beyond the reach of traditional investigative methods,” said Scott Belshaw, professor and chair of the department of criminal justice and security studies. “Officers need cyber skills and foundational knowledge of the dark web to break through the anonymity and better protect their communities.”

The series of training modules will address encryption technologies, anonymization tools, tactics cybercriminals use to conceal their identities, the global nature of crimes and more. 

New graduate program partnership

The University of Dayton and University of Cincinnati will develop a joint program to meet the rising demand for experts trained to work in cybersecurity and software engineering.

“There is an extreme need for people trained in formal methods, the use of advanced math and logic techniques to test for software programming errors, which reduces the ability of hackers to steal information, disrupt operations and more,” said Luan Nguyen, assistant professor of computer science and director of UD’s Reliable Autonomous System Lab. “The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency estimates there are fewer than 1,000 formal methods experts in the U.S., and most of them are working in industries such as semiconductors and not yet in cybersecurity and software engineering.”

The new program will be designed to attract, educate and graduate students for a more diverse and inclusive cybersecurity workforce. Faculty will develop a program to engage and guide students into courses and conduct public outreach through seminars, workshops, lab tours and summer research programs that introduce the career opportunity to elementary, middle and high school students.

Workforce pipeline training

The University also will offer a new bootcamp for those seeking cybersecurity credentials to advance their careers. The training will equip professionals with the CompTIA Security+ and CompTIA CySA+ industry-recognized credentials. 

Additionally, a new cyber education fellow will develop online training modules for the Ohio Cyber Range Institute on cyber hygiene; internet safety; coding and encryption; and malware and cyber attacks.

“These training modules for everyone from students to professionals will cover topics such as recognizing and avoiding phishing attacks, types of malware, how cyber attacks happen and ways they can be prevented, and more,” said Hamed Zolbanin, associate professor of information systems and business analytics. 

The University of Dayton is designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.