A new cybersecurity initiative at the University at Albany in New York has received $1.25 million in federal funding to purchase advanced technology and support faculty working on the university's new cybersecurity studio.
The University at Albany's Cybersecurity Incident Response Studio last week announced plans to bring together cyber and crisis management researchers from across the university to support training and simulation exercises for partners in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
“Cyberattacks are increasing in frequency, complexity, and severity in New York and around the world,” Thenkrussi Kesavadas, vice president for research and economic development at the University at Albany, said in a press release. “CREST combines AI and advanced immersive technology to assimilate and process the ‘big data’ that needs to be analyzed to understand evolving cybersecurity vulnerabilities and build resilience. We appreciate the continued strong support of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to protect New York's critical cyber infrastructure. ”
The studio will provide cybersecurity support to local governments, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses across the state. The simulation can be delivered in-person or remotely via virtual reality, according to the release.
The studio's researchers also plan to develop a user-friendly cyber-enabled toolkit to monitor the rapidly evolving cybersecurity and cyber-resilience landscape.
“CREST leverages emerging technologies such as AI and virtual reality to create an immersive cyber incident response simulation experience,” said Eric Stern, interim director of the University at Albany's Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Our interdisciplinary team will leverage his UAlbany capabilities from across campus to realistically simulate cyberattacks and develop innovative technologies to build education, training, and readiness. .”
