Welcome...
The University
of Texas at San Antonio
Center for Infrastructure Assurance and
Security
The Center for Infrastructure
Assurance and Security (CIAS) is the research
and operational component of the Information
Assurance program at the University of
Texas at San Antonio. The CIAS is designed
to leverage San Antonio's Infrastructure
Assurance and Security (IAS) strengths
as part of the solution to the nation's
Homeland Security needs and deficit of
IAS talent and resources.
The Center for Infrastructure Assurance
and Security (CIAS) at The University
of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) was established
in June of 2001. The CIAS leads San Antonio’s
charge to become the national center for
homeland security issues and in March
of 2002 the United States National Security
Agency (NSA) designated the University
of Texas at San Antonio a National Center
of Excellence in Information Assurance.
Our Vision
Our vision is to develop the world's
foremost center for multidisciplinary
research, education, and development of
operational capabilities in the areas
of infrastructure assurance and security.
The CIAS was developed to expand the existing
knowledge base and resulting technology
while strengthening and increasing the
capabilities of business resources specializing
in the IAS business arena. The CIAS has
successfully integrated academic, government
and industry efforts resulting in a dynamic
organization dedicated to infrastructure
assurance, research, and education. It
is the anchor of a collaborative multi-tiered
program focused on growing San Antonio's
IAS talent and supporting national IAS
Research and Development.
About us...
Members from private industry,
academia, and the government have created
a blueprint, anchored within the Center
for Infrastructure Assurance and Security
at the University of Texas at San Antonio,
for developing an education pipeline of
IAS talent to increase the number of students
who will study infrastructure assurance
and security, ultimately earning degrees
that will contribute to the IAS field
in San Antonio and the nation. This multi-disciplined
program is a coordinated effort between
UTSA, the Air Intelligence Agency at Lackland
AFB, industry, and other research institutions.
The CIAS is the anchor of this partnership.
The dynamic focus of the CIAS is controlled
by a diverse team consisting of members
from academia, the commercial sector,
and the government.
A key component of the
center is educational support and training.
The CIAS has developed an educational
pipeline to train men and women in the
critical area of IAS. This pipeline of
talent benefits the community by stimulating
high-tech growth in area of Information
Assurance and providing much needed resources
and skilled workers. To help prepare future
IAS talent, an Information Technology
and Security Academy was created to teach
high school students about information
security. Partnering with local school
districts and community colleges, students
spend half of each day at their home campus
and half a day at the academy campus.
Participants in this program receive college
credit and learn the foundations of information
technology and security.
The research program complements the
academic program by providing a comprehensive
approach to solving infrastructure assurance
problems and to educating the workforce
of the future. The research program is
designed to address active interests of
Headquarters Air Intelligence Agency (AIA),
Air Force Information Warfare Center (AFIWC),
Joint Information Operations Center (JIOC),
Air Force Computer Emergency Response
Team (AFCERT), and Cryptologic Systems
Group (CPSG). Researchers for these efforts
include faculty, staff, and graduate students
from the Colleges of Business, Engineering,
and Sciences.
The CIAS stands out from other traditional
academic security research centers with
its ability to provide an operational
security program. The CIAS performs community
exercises to educate and assist local
communities with their ability to efficiently
respond to potential terrorist attacks
and disasters. In 2005 CIAS was awarded
a grant by the Office of Domestic Preparedness
to perform community exercises and train
key personnel from all 50 states to plan,
execute and evaluate their own exercises.
The CIAS has also partnered with organizations
such as the United States Secret Service
Electronic Crime Task Forces (ECTFs) and
sector based Information Sharing and Analysis
Centers (ISACs) to perform security preparedness
exercises for organizations in critical
infrastructures.
