Collaborative Research: CyberTraining: Pilot: Operationalizing AI/Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Training

The interplay between AI and cybersecurity introduces new opportunities and challenges in the cybersecurity of AI as well as AI for cybersecurity. However, operations and configurations of AI cyberinfrastructure (CI) with a security mindset are rarely covered in the typical AI curriculum. To fill this gap, this project intends to develop hands-on training materials and provide mentored training for current and future research workforce in engineering and science-related disciplines. By transforming and integrating training materials into a course curriculum, this project aims to train potential cyberinfrastructure professionals in the CI community at large to handle AI with and for cybersecurity. This project has the potential to develop the research workforce in operating AI cyberinfrastructure with a security mindset to meet the national and economical needs and priorities of CI advancement. This project’s goal is to broaden the adoption of advanced cyberinfrastructure through training. This project develops a holistic technical approach for cybertraining: to identify, apply, and evaluate AI techniques which are inextricably related to well-defined operational cybersecurity challenges. The project intends to develop a Docker-based training platform that simulates and pre-configures a variety of scenarios to support hands-on AI cyberinfrastructure operations in the context of cybersecurity. Three levels of projects (exploratory, core, and advanced) are designed and integrated into the platform to help researchers and educators customize and develop into different education and training environments. The project democratizes the access and adoption of advanced AI cyberinfrastructure, while integrating cyberinfrastructure skills with the security mindset to foster inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional research collaborations. In addition to the dissemination through publications and social media, the outcomes from this project have the potential to benefit the greater cyberinfrastructure community and beyond, through the training and the sharing of the "AI for and with cybersecurity" course curriculum. This project is jointly funded by OAC and the CyberCorps program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.