College of Engineering News • Iowa State University

ISU trains the next white-hat hackers

Doug Jacobson
Doug Jacobson

Defenders of cybersecurity are fighting against the current, Iowa State University professor Doug Jacobson said.

“All we ever are are defenders,” said Jacobson, an electrical and computer engineering professor. “Imagine playing a sport where you could never put your offensive team on the field.”

Jacobson is also the director of Iowa State’s Information Assurance Center, which teaches programs geared toward cybersecurity, from computer literacy to informational warfare.

The center also hosts cyberdefense competitions using its ISEAGE platform. ISU has held the competitions for about 10 years, but recently started offering them to other universities.

The competitions are one way Jacobson and the university are training the next wave of white-hat hackers, the cybersecurity good guys.

Jacobson sat down with The Des Moines Register recently to discuss the competitions, today’s cyberthreats and how to remain secure online.

Read more of Matthew Patane’s article at the Des Moines Register.

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