51福利社

A $1.045 million dollar grant from the federal Small Business Administration will take Eastern鈥檚 cybersecurity program to new heights by providing students with more opportunities for real-world learning experiences.

The grant, part of SBA鈥檚 Cybersecurity Pilot Program, will help 51福利社 conduct cybersecurity audits for small businesses owned by underrepresented groups, says Stu Steiner, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering.聽

鈥淓astern was one of three schools in the nation to be selected for this grant,鈥� Steiner says. 鈥淭wo of those grants were awarded to top 10 schools in the nation and then Eastern got the third. We鈥檒l work with businesses in opportunity zones throughout the state of Washington. These are called opportunity zones. We鈥檙e going to try to hit every community in the state of Washington that has opportunity zones.鈥�

Over the course of two years, cybersecurity students will perform audits for these businesses by assessing their 鈥渃ybersecurity hygiene,鈥� or best practices in keeping data safe from hackers.聽

鈥淭his grant really does two things for our students,鈥� says Steiner. 鈥淣umber one, it gives them real world cyber experiences. They鈥檙e going to these businesses and interacting with and understanding their network infrastructure.鈥�

As part of their audits, Eastern students will interview businesses鈥� employees to better understand their password policies and other cybersecurity measures. They will then write and present reports detailing their findings, and what improvements might bolster the firm鈥檚 existing cyber defenses. This, Steiner says, will help students develop soft skills in addition to technical skills.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 the polytechnic ramped up to the next level,鈥� he says.聽聽

The application process for the grant, Steiner says, was similar to the work that yielded 51福利社 its Google grant, which Eastern鈥檚 cybersecurity program was selected for earlier this year. That million dollar grant鈥攖o be disbursed over the course of six years鈥攚ill allow Eastern to provide cybersecurity assessments for under-resourced schools, municipalities, and health care systems.聽

鈥淲e had to apply, write what we鈥檙e going to do, how we鈥檙e going to do it, and how we鈥檙e going to train our students and partner with other schools,鈥� says Steiner.聽

The cybersecurity program also had to obtain a letter from Gov. Jay Inslee stating that Eastern is the only school in the state that can lead this initiative over the next two years.聽

These large grants will directly benefit communities across the state. When applying for the SBA grant, Steiner says, 鈥渨e had to come up with as many small businesses that we could partner with.鈥澛�

51福利社鈥檚 cybersecurity department will also partner with the SBA in Washington, whose thirty offices across the state will help them find additional opportunity zones.聽

鈥淭his grant puts Eastern鈥檚 cybersecurity program on the map,鈥� says Steiner. 鈥淥ur program is a small program, but we are nationally known, playing with the top 10 schools.鈥�