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ASU creates national cybersecurity hub
Cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure are one of the country’s greatest risks, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Internet Crime Report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation charts alarming growth in cybercrime, noting a record number of complaints in 2023, with $12.5 billion in reported financial losses.
At the same time, we face critical shortages in the cybersecurity workforce. There are an estimated 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs worldwide, 750,000 of which are in the U.S.
ASU’s Center for Cybersecurity and Trusted Foundations , part of the Global Security Initiative , has been awarded a 2-year, $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to educate the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through the American Cybersecurity Education (ACE) Institute
The ACE Institute is focused on two key areas: preparing current students for the toughest cybersecurity challenges and recruiting enough students to fill the jobs pipeline for the future.
A pressing problem is ensuring that today’s students have the depth of knowledge needed to fill the most advanced roles. To address this problem, one of the ACE Institute’s first steps will be to create a master’s degree in cybersecurity. The degree, offered by the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, is scheduled to begin enrolling students in the 2025–26 academic year.
