University at Albany gets federal funding for cybersecurity studio
A new cybersecurity initiative at the University at Albany in New York received $1.25 million in federal funding to purchase advanced technologies and support faculty involved with the college’s new cybersecurity studio.
UAlbany’s Cybersecurity Incident Response Studio last week announced it plans to bring cyber and crisis management researchers from across the university together to support training and simulation exercises for public, private and non-profit sector partners.
“Cyberattacks are increasing in frequency, complexity and severity in New York and worldwide,” UAlbany Vice President for Research and Economic Development Thenkurussi Kesavadas said in a press release. “CREST brings together AI and advanced immersive technologies to assimilate and process the ‘big data’ that needs to be analyzed to understand evolving cybersecurity vulnerabilities and build resilience. We are grateful for Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand’s continued strong support for protecting New York’s critical cyber infrastructure.”
The studio will offer cybersecurity support to local governments, nonprofits and small businesses across the state. The simulations can be offered both in-person and remotely through virtual reality, the release said.
Researchers with the studio also plan to develop a user-friendly cyber response toolkit and monitor the rapidly evolving landscape of cybersecurity and cyber resilience.
“CREST is harnessing emerging technologies such as AI and virtual reality to create an immersive cyber incident response simulation experience,” said Eric Stern, interim director of UAlbany’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “Our multi-disciplinary team will draw upon UAlbany’s capabilities from across campus to realistically simulate cyberattacks and develop innovative techniques for education, training and preparedness-building.”
