JUNE 14, 2021 — UTSA will receive new funding to support its efforts to fight cyberattacks. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $500,000 grant to the Cyber Center for Security and Analytics, an academic center within the Carlos Alvarez College of Business. The money will go towards developing data-driven methods and algorithms to make cyberinfrastructure more resilient against ransomware attacks.
“This is a very competitive grant from the National Science Foundation. Typically, it is very difficult for these types of grants to be awarded to a single faculty,” said Elias Bou-Harb, director of the UTSA Cyber Center for Security and Analytics and the principal investigator of the project. “I'm very honored and humbled that the NSF saw immense value in the proposal, which endeavors to address the ransomware problem from a multidimensional perspective.”
Bou-Harb’s research is part of the Cyber Center’s larger mission to apply practical solutions to address the vulnerabilities of the nation’s cyber security systems.
Recent ransomware attacks on the health, education and IT sectors have been a stark reminder of the damage wrought by these assaults to our country’s cyberinfrastructure.
This new project aims to develop models that will enable researchers to, as Bou-Harb stated, “capture and comprehend the mutating behaviors” of the ransomware.
The goal is to provide attacked industry sectors with “actionable cyber threat intelligence” to mitigate such a debilitating threat. The project will also generate “open-source tools, virtual training material and empirical data to facilitate and empower forward-looking research, operations and training in cyber and digital forensics,” Bou-Harb added.
“The problem of ransomware is causing great damage to the U.S. infrastructure, as seen by the recent attacks on the Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipeline system for refined oil products in the U.S, and JBS, the world's largest meat processing company,” Bou-Harb said. “The new grant from the NSF will address the ransomware problem by analyzing these attacks targeting U.S. infrastructure and by building defensive and preventative methods. It will also train Ph.D. students in cyber and forensics. We also hope to generate several operation cyber security capabilities that the broader community can use in its fight against ransomware.”
Funding for this project comes from the National Science Foundation’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure and is estimated to continue until 2024.
Today’s world calls for greater collaboration to protect America’s national security infrastructure. UTSA is leading this charge, armed with world-class faculty and a reputation as the undisputed leader in cybersecurity education.
The university’s new National Security Collaboration Center is taking this leadership to the next level, creating a powerful ecosystem to engage government, industry and academia to tackle the nation’s greatest cybersecurity threats.
UTSA is one of the few universities in the nation and the only Hispanic Serving University to hold all three National Center of Excellence designations from the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security, further solidifying its dominance as a leader in cybersecurity. This is in addition to UTSA being home to the No. 1 cybersecurity program in the nation, according to the Ponemon Institute, and nationally recognized for having the best academic support for its online cybersecurity degree.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusJoin the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event is to achnowlege the graduating seniors and induct the new cohart of scholars to our program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140,) Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
