Collaborative Research: Targeted Infusion Project: Infusing AI-Driven Digital Forensics into Cybersecurity Education

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, in collaboration with the University of Baltimore, will conduct a three-year project to strengthen undergraduate education in cybersecurity and digital forensics. The project will create a hands-on learning environment that uses large language models to help students examine digital evidence from smartphones, smart speakers, drones, and other connected devices. Six laboratory modules will teach students to interpret text, images, and audio; identify and connect relevant evidence; reconstruct event timelines; and understand the limitations and ethical concerns associated with artificial intelligence (AI). The modules will be incorporated into existing courses, supported through faculty and student training, and shared through workshops for educators from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other institutions. This award will enable the development, testing, implementation, evaluation, and national dissemination of educational resources intended to improve preparation for cybersecurity and digital investigation careers. The project will develop and evaluate a preconfigured investigation environment that integrates multiple large language models, open-source development tools, structured prompts, evidence visualization methods, and digital forensic tools. Laboratory activities will apply image description, audio transcription, information extraction, behavioral analysis, evidence relationship mapping, timeline reconstruction, prompt refinement, and responsible AI practices to realistic investigations involving multiple connected devices. The research team will assess student learning and investigative performance by comparing experimental and control groups through pre-assessments, post-assessments, timed tasks, laboratory reports, surveys, standardized rubrics, and measures of correctly identified evidence and relationships. Follow-up data collected six and twelve months after course completion will examine skill retention, continued application of project methods, subsequent coursework, internships, certifications, graduate education, and career outcomes. Findings and educational resources will be disseminated through scholarly publications, conferences, workshops, tutorials, and publicly accessible repositories. The project has the potential to advance knowledge in STEM education regarding the effective integration of large language models into undergraduate cybersecurity education while expanding access to AI-enhanced digital forensics instruction. The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), through Targeted Infusion Projects, supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based, innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) graduate programs and/or careers. 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.